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DENVER and WASHINGTON, D.C. - January 25, 2002 - You hear your baby's
first cry and breathe a sigh of relief. Your new bundle of joy is
perfectly healthy, or is she? Each year more than 12,000 babies are born
in the United States with a hearing impairment. Despite the fact that
hearing impairment is the number one birth defect in the U.S., only an
estimated 65 percent of newborns are currently being screened for hearing
loss. In recognition of national Birth Defects Prevention Month, Cochlear
Corporation, manufacturer of Nucleus® cochlear implant systems, and the
National Campaign for Hearing Health (NCHH), a public outreach and
advocacy initiative sponsored by the Deafness Research Foundation (DRF),
have partnered to generate public awareness for the importance of
universal newborn hearing screening.
The National Campaign for Hearing Health is committed to making a lifetime
of hearing possible for all Americans," said Elizabeth Thorp, director,
National Campaign For Hearing Health. "This can only be achieved by
identifying hearing loss in its early stages through the passage of state
mandated newborn hearing screening laws."
Due to a lack of mandated hearing screening, parents bring home roughly 18
hearing-impaired newborns daily with no knowledge of their child's hearing
loss. And yet, this situation can be avoided. Screening for newborn
hearing loss is a simple, unobtrusive, relatively inexpensive process,
costing hospitals between $15 and $50 for testing devices. Although
legislation requiring universal newborn hearing screening has been passed
in 34 states and more children than ever are being diagnosed at an early
age, there still remain a number of states that do not have mandated
hearing screening requirements. This allows hearing loss to go undiagnosed
until later in life when speech and language skills are more difficult to
develop.
The following are brief checklists that can be useful in determining
whether or not your child should be examined for hearing loss. According
to the NCHH, children birth to three months should exhibit the following
characteristics:
¨ Reacts to loud sounds.
¨ Is soothed by your voice.
¨ Turns head to you when you speak.
¨ Is awakened by loud voices and sounds.
¨ Smiles when spoken to.
¨ Seems to know your voice and quiets down if crying.
Children three to six months should exhibit the following characteristics:
¨ Looks upward or turns toward a new sound.
¨ Responds to "no" and changes in tone of voice.
¨ Imitates his/her own voice.
¨ Enjoys rattles and other toys that make sounds.
¨ Begins to repeat sounds (such as ooh, aah, and ba-ba).
¨ Becomes scared by a loud voice.
If your child does not respond to these stimuli, you should contact your
physician to have your child's hearing tested.
"Identifying hearing loss as early as possible is imperative to helping
hearing-impaired children obtain the technology and support necessary for
the development of speech and language skills," said Jim Miller,
president, Cochlear Corporation. "Universal newborn hearing screening is
the first step and a key component in this process."
Denver-based Cochlear Corporation is the U.S. headquarters for Cochlear
Limited, the world leader in cochlear implant technology. Cochlear is a
winner of the 2001 Medical Design Excellence Awards for its design of the
Nucleus® 24 Contour™ cochlear implant and the FDA Commissioner's Special
Citation for the development and commercialization of the Nucleus® 24
Multichannel Auditory Brainstem Implant. For more information about
Cochlear's products, call the
Nucleus Hotline at 800/458-4999 (Voice), or 800/483-3123 (TDD) or visit
their Web site at
http://www.cochlear.com.
The National Campaign for Hearing Health, sponsored by the Deafness
Research Foundation, is committed to putting hearing health on the
national agenda. The Campaign is working to raise awareness of hearing
issues, improve options for those living with hearing loss, and to protect
those at risk. By advocating for detection, prevention, intervention and
research, the Campaign promotes hearing health for all. For more
information or a free copy of the National Campaign for Hearing Health's
infant hearing checklist, visit
http://www.hearinghealth.net. |
