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EDMONTON – Alberta Health Services now offers a permanent hearing loss test for newborns.
The early detection and intervention program of hearing checks babies before the age of one month.
The government says the service will be offered free of charge in the 13 neonatal intensive care units, many community sites and postnatal units in the most frequent hospitals.
The quick and painless test is to play soft sounds in the child's ears while he is asleep or silent.
Infants who fail the test will be sent for a specialized hearing test to eliminate or confirm a permanent hearing loss and determine its severity.
Every year in Alberta, between 110 and 160 babies are born with permanent hearing loss.
"It is important for babies to be screened as early as possible, ideally before the age of one month," said Tanis Howarth, director of audiology for the province.
"The sooner we can identify hearing loss, the sooner we can offer intervention services and support language development."
Previously, neonatal screening was offered only sporadically throughout Alberta.
Without screening, there are no obvious early signs that a baby has a hearing loss. And even if a baby reacts to sounds, he may not hear well enough to develop the language. (CTV Edmonton)
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