Menu
Hearing First
Person Icon
Hearing First Logo
Hearing First
  • Family Community
  • Professional Community
  • User
  • Site
  • Search
  • User
  • Getting Started
  • Listening & Spoken Language
    • Listening & Spoken Language
    • Overview
    • What is LSL?
    • What LSL Takes
    • The Science of LSL
    • Building Your Support Team
      • Building Your Support Team
      • Overview
      • Meet the Early Intervention Professionals
      • What to Look for in an LSL Professional
      • The Parent-Professional Partnership
      • Finding LSL Services in Your Area
      • Covering the Cost of LSL
  • Hearing Evaluation & Technology
    • Hearing Evaluation & Technology
    • Overview
    • Newborn Hearing Screening
    • Hearing Evaluation and Diagnosis
    • Hearing Technology
    • Maximizing Technology
      • Maximizing Technology
      • Overview
      • Baby
      • Toddler
      • Preschooler
      • School-Age
  • What To Do
    • What To Do
    • Overview
    • LSL in Daily Life
    • LSL Strategies & Techniques
      • LSL Strategies & Techniques
      • Overview
      • Be a Director
      • Be a Bird Dog
      • Hear It Before They See It
      • Make Listening Easier
      • Play-By-Play
      • It's Your Turn
      • Create a Listening Sandwich
      • Keep Them on Their Toes
      • Beyond the Here and Now
      • It's All About Me
      • Help Me But Don't Tell Me
      • What Did You Hear?
    • LTL Sounds and Phrases
    • Road to Literacy
      • Road to Literacy
      • Overview
      • Reading Aloud
      • Singing & Rhyming
      • Experience Books
    • New Experiences
      • New Experiences
      • Overview
      • Baby
      • Toddler
      • Preschooler
      • School-Age
  • Celebrate LSL
    • Celebrate LSL
    • Overview
    • LSL Life
      • LSL Life
      • Overview
      • Genesis
      • Sophie
      • Ethan
      • Cici
      • Kamen
      • Corlena
      • Maggie
      • Zach
      • Dacie & Carlie
      • Morgan & Katie
      • Maya
      • Fletcher
    • Powering Potential Podcast
    • Inspiring Stories
    • The Listening Project
  • Learn & Connect
    • Learn & Connect
    • Overview
    • Families
    • Professionals
    • Learning Experiences
    • Course Catalog
    • Resources
    • Articles
    • Starts Hear Campaign
Home Hearing Evaluation and Technology Hearing Evaluation and Diagnosis

Hearing Evaluation and Diagnosis

Hearing is critical for brain growth, neural integration, and learning. It's important you know how your baby is hearing.

Children who are deaf or hard of hearing face a potential developmental emergency, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Hearing provides a clear pathway for sound to travel through the ears to the brain. Sound is the important auditory information that becomes knowledge for your baby. Hearing is a key part of their learning. This auditory information helps grow connections in the brain that will allow your baby to begin learning to listen, talk, and read just like their hearing friends.

On This Page

  • A Complete Hearing Evaluation
  • How Do You Test a Baby's Hearing?
  • What the Test Results Mean
  • What to Do if Hearing Loss Is Confirmed
  • Ongoing Audiology Services

A Complete Hearing Evaluation

Almost all babies have their hearing screened at birth, which is a pass-fail test. If your baby fails, they'll need more in-depth testing to confirm their hearing status. Children's diagnostic testing for hearing is known as a hearing evaluation and it will be completed by a pediatric audiologist. You'll want a thorough hearing evaluation as soon as possible so your baby won't miss the sounds and spoken language that surround them.

The sooner you know your baby’s hearing status, the better their brain can develop for listening, talking, and reading.

Teresa Caraway, PhD, CCC-SLP, LSLS Cert. AVT, CEO Hearing First

Your baby’s hearing evaluation is made up of several different tests to measure how much your baby can hear in each ear and whether the hearing loss can be corrected by surgery or managed by devices, such as hearing aids.

Be Prepared

Bring someone with you to the scheduled hearing evaluation appointment. A family member or close friend can support you when the results are shared and if a treatment plan is explained. If your baby is diagnosed with hearing loss, the news can be a surprise or shock and this may be an emotional time. It can help to have another person with you to offer support.

Preparing for Your Baby's Hearing Evaluation

Go to every appointment with confidence by knowing what to expect, like what kind of tests they’ll do and what kind of questions you’ll be asked.

Learn More

How Do You Test a Baby's Hearing?

You won't be able to test your baby's hearing at home. You'll need a pediatric audiologist to run a set of tests using specialized equipment. Your audiologist will explain the purpose of each test and what it means for your baby's hearing. These tests include auditory brainstem response (ABR) and otoacoustic emissions (OAE). They're gentle, safe, and won't cause your baby any discomfort or pain.

Depending on the age of your baby, they may be tested using behavioral audiometry. For this testing, you and your baby will most likely go into a soundproof booth together and your pediatric audiologist will present sounds and observe your baby's responses. Since you'll be with your baby throughout the testing you can observe the responses as well.

Find an Audiologist

There are several ways you can find an audiologist. Try using a directory from the American Academy of Audiology (AAA) or the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).

What the Test Results Mean

Your pediatric audiologist will talk to you about the results of your baby's hearing evaluation. They'll be able to clearly explain what the testing does and doesn't tell them about your baby's hearing.

Diagnosing hearing loss takes more than just one testing session. Depending on a number of factors, your audiologist may ask you to schedule another appointment for further testing. If your baby's hearing is in the normal range, they'll provide information about future hearing screenings if needed.

If your baby is diagnosed with hearing loss, a lot of information will be shared with you. Your audiologist will discuss what type of hearing loss your baby has, how severe it is, and how to get started with the right devices so your baby can hear.

Familiar Sounds Audiogram

Understanding Your Child's Hearing

“What can my child hear?” “What does their hearing loss mean?” This eBook helps parents and professionals answer these questions together, with clear explanations and definitions about an audiogram, hearing loss, and more.

Download
Image of the Audiogram eBook
Get the eBook

Audiogram

An audiogram is a visual picture that shows what speech sounds your child can hear at the time of testing. You'll learn about your child's audiogram which will help you better understand their hearing loss.

Range of Hearing Loss

You'll learn if their hearing loss level is mild, moderate, severe, or profound. With advances in hearing technology, even babies with profound hearing loss, often identified as deaf, are learning to listen and talk.

Type of Hearing Loss

There are two basic types of hearing loss – conductive and sensorineural.

  • Conductive hearing loss is caused by problems in the outer or middle ear, such as an ear infection, wax buildup, or a problem with how the ear is formed. This may be corrected with medical treatment or surgery.
  • Sensorineural hearing loss means the problem is in the inner ear or cochlea – the part of the ear that receives, organizes, and transfers sound through nerves to the brain. This type of hearing loss is permanent, which means that it can't be corrected with surgery, but listening and talking are still possible with hearing devices, such as hearing aids or cochlear implants.

Location of Hearing Loss

Your baby may have hearing loss in only one ear (unilateral) or both ears (bilateral).

Cause of Hearing Loss

In many cases, the cause of your baby's hearing loss may be unknown. If possible, your pediatric audiologist and ear-nose-throat doctor (ENT) will help determine a cause.

Generally, there are two types of causes. Hearing loss can be caused by hereditary or genetic factors that have different likelihoods of occurrence. Hearing loss can also be caused by environmental events such as lack of oxygen at birth, infections, head trauma, or medications. Sometimes, it's both genetic and environmental factors that cause hearing loss.

Timing of Hearing Loss

The timing can vary. If the hearing loss is present at birth or shortly thereafter, it's known as congenital hearing loss. Hearing losses that happen after the child has started to learn to talk is known as acquired hearing loss.

Other Professionals You May Need

Typically your baby is referred to a medical doctor who specializes in childhood ear and hearing problems – like an ear-nose-throat (ENT) doctor or an otologist. They'll examine your baby to see if there's a medical solution to their hearing loss. Your baby may be referred for other diagnostic tests, such as X-rays or MRI scans, to further define the type and source of the hearing loss.

Drs. Carol Flexer and Jane Madell explain audiograms

Download Transcript Drs. Carol Flexer and Jane Madell, notable pediatric audiologists, explain how the audiogram provides a visual picture of the speech information going through the doorway to the brain.

 

What to Do if Hearing Loss Is Confirmed

Here's what you can do right away to put you and your baby on the path toward learning to listen and talk.

  1. Get your baby fit with the right hearing devices as soon as possible so they can hear all the sounds or information around them, especially your voice. You'll learn about the hearing device and audiological services your baby needs. Your audiologist will:
    • Recommend hearing device options so your baby's brain can get complete and clear auditory information
    • Discuss costs and services for the hearing devices
    • Customize your baby's hearing devices so they fit well
    • Teach you how to care for the devices
    • Discuss enrolling immediately in early intervention based on the goals you have for your baby
    • Make a plan to manage and monitor your baby's hearing so you can catch any further hearing loss as early as possible
  2. Enroll in early intervention services with a professional who is experienced in the communication outcome you want for your baby, like Listening and Spoken Language (LSL). They'll guide you to achieve the future you want for your baby. There's a lot to consider but you can learn more about how to build your support team.
  3. Find support from other families like yours in the Hearing First Family Support Community.
quotes

The Hearing First Family Support Community helps families as they navigate the path to helping their baby learn to listen, talk, sing, and read. With resources, information, and discussions, parents can find the help they’re looking for.

Marge Edwards, Coordinator of the Family Support Community and mom of two boys with hearing loss

Ongoing Audiology Services

After diagnosis and hearing device fitting, you’ll return often for audiology services. At first these appointments may be more frequent to make sure your baby or child has access to all the sounds of speech through their devices. These frequent appointments are important for your pediatric audiologist to assess your child's hearing and their devices so any change or drop in hearing can be detected quickly.

Seeing the pediatric audiologist on a regular basis is key to creating the best listening and spoken language outcomes for your baby. As they grow, the visits will usually become less frequent. Your audiologist will guide you on how often you and your baby need to return for appointments based on their hearing devices and health.

You’ll return often in the first year for new earmolds. Earmold fittings are critical to your baby’s success with their hearing aids.

If you ever suspect a problem with the hearing device or a change in your baby’s hearing, contact your audiologist quickly. It’s not unusual for hearing loss to progress but there are still hearing technology options for your baby to hear.

Read More About It

The Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing has a guide on best practices for audiological evaluation and management of hearing loss in infants and children.

Learn More

More In This Section

Newborn Hearing Screening
Hearing Evaluation and Diagnosis
Hearing Devices and Technology
Maximizing Technology

Connect with parents who have been down this path before.

Remember, you’re not alone on this journey. Thousands of parents have been in your shoes. Find other parents who can share from experience, offer encouragement, and help your family reach your LSL goals.

Learn More

Sign In or Register

In order to save content, you need an account. Set up is quick and easy! If you're already a member - sign in here.

Register as a Professional Register as a Family Member
Hearing First Logo
  • About Hearing First
  • Starts Hear
  • Family Support Community
  • Professional Learning Community
  • Learning Experiences
  • Resources
  • Contact Us
  • Celebrate LSL
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
©2023 Hearing First, LLC. All rights reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Policy Using Hearing First Resources Code of Conduct