Reference no: EM133034811
Hearing Screening
- Intact hearing is essential for language, speech and cognitive development.
- About 1 to 3 per 1000 children in Europe and the United States have hearing loss)
- An estimated 80% of people in the world with moderate to profound hearing impairment are from low- and middle-income countries.
Children from developing countries may be more likely to have hearing impairment than the general Canadian population.
- Immigrant and refugee children may not have received hearing screening in their country of origin.
- A delay in language and speech development should not be attributed to a different mother tongue or different culture until hearing testing and other appropriate evaluations are performed.
- Early detection of hearing loss and intervention in infants and young children are critical for optimal growth and development. Primary prevention can eliminate half of all cases of deafness and hearing impairment.
- Children should have their hearing tested before they enter school or any time there is a concern about a child's hearing or language development.
For optimal development, children and youth need to have excellent hearing. Auditory deprivation in early infancy can cause irreversible deficits in language development, communication and psychosocial skills, cognition and literacy. A hearing impairment can delay the newcomer child's acquisition of English or French and affect the process of adaptation and acculturation.
Screening and intervention for hearing loss in youngsters is important for a number of reasons:
- Half of all cases of deafness and hearing impairment are avoidable through primary prevention.2
- The impact on a child's speech and language is directly proportional to the severity of hearing loss and delay in diagnosis and intervention.
- The earlier children with a hearing loss star intervention services, the more likely they are to reach full potential.
Attachment:- Chapter.rar