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How Is a Newborn Infant Hearing Test Performed?

According to Medicine Net, hearing loss is the most common disorder at birth. For this reason, all states have screening procedures for newborn infants. The sooner hearing loss is detected, the greater chance a child has at demonstrating strong speech, language and cognitive abilities.

  1. Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR)

    • During ABR tests, electrodes are placed on an infant's head. Various sounds are played for the infant through small earphones. Brain wave activity is recorded with the electrodes. According to the official website of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the "ABR can detect damage to the cochlea, the auditory nerve and the auditory pathways in the stem of the brain."

    Otoacoustic Emission (OAE)

    • The OAE test is performed with a probe containing a microphone and speaker that is placed in an infant's ear. Sounds are generated through the speaker, sending an electrical stimulus to the brainstem. An infant with normal hearing will produce an otoacoustic emission that is recorded with the microphone and shown pictorially on a computer screen.

    Pros and Cons

    • Though the OAE test is more cost-effective, the false-positive rate may be higher than that of the ABR. In many cases, infants that do not pass an OAE test are then given an ABR test for complete results.

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