Excellence in Newborn Hearing Screening

Healthy hearing for babies from day one is very important. Indicating hearing loss and taking adequate action right from the beginning requires objective hearing tests which are fast, reliable, and won’t hurt the baby.

What is Newborn Hearing Screening?

Most babies are born with normal hearing and experience the beauty of sound from the beginning – but up to 3 out of 1,000 newborns have a moderate or severe hearing impairment. Those children cannot properly hear their parents speak, sing, or read to them which delays speech and language learning. Newborn hearing screening identifies babies at risk for hearing loss so they can be evaluated and treated early.

Newborn Hearing Screening Philippines

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Philippine National Ear Institute (PNEI) had made a great part in pursuing the commitment in emphasizing the importance of early identification and management for newborns with hearing loss. They made a numerous and extensive studies that helped them determine the need for an appropriate action and providing an access for hearing screening across the nation. The Republic Act 9709 also known as An Act Establishing a Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Program for the Prevention, Early Diagnosis and Intervention of Hearing Loss was approved and signed into law in June 2009. RA 9709 directs all newborns should undergo hearing screening prior to hospital discharge or within three months after birth. The scope of the Law applies to all hospital based and community-based settings.

Why is it important?

The sense of hearing is the foundation for communication and promotes social interaction. Hearing is the key to learning spoken language and is important for the cognitive development of children. Hearing loss is a barrier to education and socialization especially when it goes undetected and untreated. A baby born with hearing loss that is not detected and treated early will not achieve the typical developmental milestones expected in the first months and years of their life.