Although it’s often difficult to tell if your child is suffering from some hearing conditions or problems as it usually occurs gradually when the child is developing, there are screening and evaluation tests carried out to asses hearing in newborns and young children.

1. Assessing
Hearing Loss in
Infants and
Young Children

2.  Doesn’t your child respond from a distance or
to familiar sounds and other voices?
 Does your child find it difficult to understand
words clearly?
 Isn’t your baby startled by loud noises?

3. Although it’s often difficult to tell if your child is
suffering from some hearing conditions or
problems as it usually occurs gradually when the
child is developing, there are screening and
evaluation tests carried out to asses hearing in
newborns and young children.

4. Why Hearing Tests and Assessments?
Hearing loss is a common problem that can
congenital that is present at birth or acquired.
While you may notice or spot signs and
behaviours that indicate hearing loss in your
child during their development, screening tests
are conducted shortly after birth to identify
children with significant hearing loss or
impairment.

5. Routine hearing tests can help detect hearing
issues in an infant or child early on and provide
support and a suitable treatment they may
need in the near future. Without these routine
screenings, your child’s hearing disorders could
go undiagnosed for months and years and cause
delays in their speech and language
development as well as educational progress
troubles.

6. When is a child’s hearing tested or checked?
It is always advised to have your child’s hearing
tested promptly so that the child can be
provided with the medical support and help
he/she needs early on. Generally, a child’s
hearing is tested within a few weeks of birth,
also called newborn hearing screening and is
considered a routine test for all children.

7. Some children may require a follow-up to their
newborn screening at around eight months to
one year of their birth. Most children go
through a screening test when they start their
school. The test may be conducted at school or
the hearing centre nearby your location.

8. Screening Tests for Newborns and Young Children
Newborns are screened for potential hearing
loss and impairment using two quick tests
namely automated otoacoustic emissions
(AOAE) test and automated auditory brainstem
response (AABR) test.

9. The AOAE test involves placing a soft earpiece
in child’s ear and playing sounds to take up the
response from the inner ear and analyse the
results. AABR test, on the other hand, uses
three sensors that are placed on the child’s
head and around the neck and clicking sounds
are played through soft headphones. The
sensors detect responses from the child’s brain
and hearing nerves that are analysed to detect
issues.

10. For young children, there are a number of
screening tests including speech perception
test, tympanometry, bone conduction test,
visual reinforcement audiometry, play
audiometry and pure tone audiometry that spot
potential hearing issues in them. These test are
usually conducted at an audiology department
or hearing centre and possible solutions to the
child’s hearing disposers are advised by the
audiologist.

11. Perth Hearing Centre, WA
New Bigger, Better Location:
Perth Hearing Clinic, WA
Perth@valuehearing.com.au
Suite 7, 16 Kearns Crescent
Ardross , WA , 6153
1800 157 429
(08) 6102 6861
Sydney City Hearing Centre,
NSW
Sydney@valuehearing.com.au
Level 1, 299 Elizabeth St
Sydney , NSW , 2000
1800 157 429
(02) 8188 2300
Chatswood Hearing Clinic, NSW
Sydney@valuehearing.com.au
2nd Floor, Suite 202,
443 Victoria Ave
Chatswood , NSW , 2067
1800 157 429
(02) 8188 2300
Melbourne Hearing Clinic
melbourne@valuehearing.com.a
u
Level 2, 517 St Kilda Rd
Melbourne , Vic , 3004
1800 157 429
1300 586 104
(03) 90 217 217
Brisbane Hearing Centre, QLD
brisbane@valuehearing.com.au
Level 23, 127 Creek st
(Pipe Networks House)
Brisbane , QLD , 4000
1800 157 429
(07) 3106 1050
Gold Coast Hearing Centre,
QLD
GoldCoast@valuehearing.com.au
Suite 23, Level 2, HQ Building,
58 Riverwalk Avenue
Robina , QLD , 4226
1800 157 429
(07) 5606 6236