What to do if an infant fails a hearing screening

Hearing screening is an important test during infancy. For those who do not pass the hearing screening, binaural re-screening is needed, and if they still do not pass, diagnostic interventions are needed, such as hearing aids for those who are diagnosed as hearing impaired. Infants need normal hearing to learn language. Infants usually learn to speak at 4-9 months of age (no later than 11 months). If normal language learning cannot be established at this important stage due to hearing impairment, it may lead to language and speech disorders, or even deafness. Early detection of hearing impairment and effective intervention (hearing aids) is therefore very important. Those who fail to pass the screening test should be re-screened, and if they still fail the re-screening test, a diagnostic test should be conducted. Those who are diagnosed should be given hearing aids before the critical age of language development to improve their hearing and facilitate their language development. For babies who pass the re-screening, if they have high risk factors for hearing impairment, they still need to be followed up every 6 months of age for 3 years. Consultation with a specialist is recommended.