Newborn Tests Find Hearing Loss Sooner

Children are being diagnosed with hearing loss earlier since laws required all newborns to be tested. But hearing problems in many kids are still found long after birth, a study finds. The study used data on 391 children in Illinois who received cochlear implants in Illinois. These devices help people to hear. Researchers divided the kids into two groups. They looked separately at those who got the implants before and after newborn hearing tests were required by law. Hearing loss was found earlier in children born after the tests were required. They also got their cochlear implants sooner. But about 1 out of 3 children who received the implants had passed the tests as newborns. They were diagnosed with hearing loss later in childhood. Researchers don’t know why. The journal Archives of Otolaryngology — Head & Neck Surgery published the study.