Having a baby is a life-changing moment for families. Along with the excitement and extra work that come with bringing a new life into the world is the monumental realization that parents are tasked with looking after — and out for — their tiny, perfect infant.
An owner’s manual comes with a new car; it doesn’t for a newborn. And that makes publicly funded services that support a child’s wellbeing extra important for families.
One of the most important is Ontario’s Infant Hearing Program, available at no cost to newborns and their families.
The Infant Hearing Program is a simple, but invaluable screening that checks a newborn’s hearing. The screening process itself is quick, safe, and painless, and is ideally done when a baby is sleeping.
The screening is offered immediately after a baby is born. Newborns can be screened at Peterborough Regional Health Centre, or in community settings such as Five Counties Children’s Centre locations in Peterborough, Lindsay, Cobourg and Campbellford. Five Counties is part of the provincially funded Tri-Regional Infant Hearing Program, led by the Oak Valley Health Child Development Program, which delivers this service across our region.
“Of all the screenings that we do, screening for hearing loss in infants is one of the most time sensitive,” says Mary MacDonald, a clinical audiologist based in Bridgenorth, who also assists Five Counties with the Infant Hearing Program.
While most babies pass the screening with ease, about two in 1,000 babies have hearing loss at birth, and two more will develop hearing loss by age five. For MacDonald, early screening is vital to identify potential hearing loss, especially when it can affect a baby’s growth, development, and future wellbeing.
“The human brain is really wired to acquire language and learn language in the early months and years of life,” she says. “Hearing provides the input that babies and children need to learn speech and language themselves. If that input is reduced or incomplete, a child may have difficulty hearing certain sounds, understanding speech clearly, or developing language as expected.”
If babies do not pass the first screening, it doesn’t always mean there is permanent hearing loss. Follow-up testing is essential and recommended with an audiologist to get a better picture. Whether the issue is temporary or an underlying permanent hearing loss that needs attention, families enrolled in the Infant Hearing Program move quickly from diagnosis to support.
Families are connected to a team that includes audiologists, speech-language pathologists, social workers, and other specialists. Depending on the child’s needs, support may include monitoring, hearing aids, cochlear implant assessment, sign language options, listening and spoken language therapy, and practical strategies families can use in everyday routines.
“Parents are not left to figure it out on their own; they are guided through next steps and connected with the right resources at the right time,” says Diane Waselenko, a speech-language pathologist at Five Counties who also supports the Infant Hearing Program.
“The sooner hearing loss is identified, and the sooner it is managed, it makes all the difference for these kids.”
Waselenko finds supporting children with hearing loss and families is extremely rewarding — especially the “aha” moments when a child can hear and respond to sound, sometimes for the first time.
“Suddenly there’s a connection, and a child is quickly reacting to the different sounds or the speech that we’re producing for them,” Waselenko says. “That’s a big deal, and we really celebrate that. It’s the beginning, and then it just grows from there.”
For more information about the Infant Hearing Program, visit fivecounties.on.ca/infant-hearing-program/.
