Cochlear Implant - A Solution For Hearing Loss That Lasts Forever

Less than two days after being born, Sean was already undergoing a test to measure his ability to hear, without ever having to be roused from sleep

. A professional audiologists wheeled the baby's bassinet towards a computer which has wires extending from it. The lady audiologist took one of the tiny wires and gingerly placed it into the newborn boys right ear and typed something into the computer. Complicated looking multi-colored graphics were shown on the computer screen.

The procedure that Sean was so oblivious to was one that can detect hearing loss at a very early age and help hearing impaired children and their parents learn to face the challenges ahead. In this country alone, 4,000 children are born profoundly deaf while another 24,000 are born with some loss of hearing. What Sean was undergoing is called an otoacoustic emissions (OAE) test, which is designed to help pediatricians and family members know within just hours of birth whether there is any hearing impairment and so give each child the chance to experience life with almost no disabilities.

It is common for hearing impairment to go undetected until a child is 2 or 3 years old. The results in those cases are very severe. Speech and language development is grossly delayed. The children are delayed in speaking and they have lost out on the information about their surroundings that comes through hearing. The first 2 years of life is the most crucial phase of any child's development, as far as emotional and intellectual progression is concerned. In certain instances, an erroneous diagnosis of mental inadequacy is made for a child who has hearing loss.

It used to be extremely hard and expensive to test newborns for hearing loss, but in 1990 the OAE was developed. Audiologists now can use a an auditory brain stem response test, which is extremely accurate. The process consisted of attaching electrodes to the baby in order to measure the auditory nerve's activity. The problem with the test was it lasted 30 minutes, cost $90, and was required a doctor or professional audiologist to perform it. There are too many newborns and not enough doctors to administer this type of test.

The OAE is more cost effective and easier to administer therefore does not require a full time audiologist. The test measures the vibration of the hair cells in the cochlea when subjected to sounds, a procedure that can be completed in as little as five minutes. A microphone is used to detect the response made from the hair cells when the sound is transmitted into the baby's ear. After the test was administered on one side the audiologist shifted the baby to his other side to repeat the procedure, looking pleased with the results she was seeing. Sean was lucky - he had near perfect hearing.

For infants who fail the first test, a second one is completed one week later. The reason is that newborns often have fluid in the ear canal that can lead to poor test results. If the second test indicates the same results, then an auditory brain stem response test is done to find the exact cause. A plan to deal with the issue is then devised among the pediatrician, audiologist and parents.

If the hearing loss is minor, a hearing aid can be fitted as early as 3 months of age. In most cases, a simple hearing aid is all that is required to improve their hearing. By a year-and-a-half, the child can receive a cochlear implant, which is a surgical procedure which can help to correct hearing deficiencies for their entire life.

For those cases where the hearing loss is more severe, parents must spend more time with the infant and use visual cues when teaching the baby about the surrounding environment. This type of rigorous attention has been shown to help the babies develop at a normal intellectual rate in most cases. When faced with raising a deaf child parents have a variety of styles to consider, each with there own positive points, among these are lip-reading, cued speech, hearing aids, and American Sign Language.

by: Sophia Phillips

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