1 - Before ONE Month of Age: Hearing Screening
Newborn Hearing Screenings
Your baby's hearing can be screened soon after birth and before leaving the hospital. In South Dakota, all of the hospitals that deliver babies regularly have hearing screening equipment. The screening does not hurt and takes only minutes to screen each ear with immediate results. Most babies sleep through the screening. The screening does not confirm a definite hearing loss - rather it determines how the baby is hearing at that time and identifies if further diagnostic evaluations are needed.
CLICK HERE for more information on the screening process.
If the baby does not pass the first hearing screening:
It is important to follow-up with a second screening, called a re-screening. The re-screening should be done before the baby is one month of age. This will ensure that there is not a delay in any further evaluations that may be needed.
Resources
- Center for Disease Control (CDC) EHDI
- Healthy Children
- Newborn Hearing Screening: What, When and Why
- South Dakota Bright Start
- Universal Newborn Hearing Screening, Diagnosis and Intervention - A Roadmap for Families
Above are links to agencies, organizations and other websites that provide information, services, and resources of interest to the deaf and hard of hearing and to their families. The South Dakota Department of Health exercises no control over the content of these sites and provides the links for informational purposes only. This information is not a substitute for medical care.