Copyright 1999 Boston Herald Inc.
The Boston Herald
August 8, 1999 Sunday ALL EDITIONS
SECTION: ARTS & LIFE; Pg. 067
LENGTH: 906 words
HEADLINE:
Newborn testing sounds alarm - Timely intervention aids hearing-impaired infants
BYLINE: By Karyn Miller-Medzon
BODY:
Like many Americans suffering from hearing
impairment, Adam Wolpert has worn hearing aids for most of his life.
What makes him unusual? The cherubic infant with the piercing blue eyes
won't reach his 6-month birthday for another two weeks.
Thanks to
Massachusetts' recently implemented universal newborn hearing
screenings, Adam's mild-to-moderate hearing loss was detected less than
six hours after his uneventful birth.
Detecting hearing loss at an early
age can make a difference in academic, social and psychological well-being, said
Donna Sorkin, executive director of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for
the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, which focuses on the needs of children with
hearing loss.
"The average age hearing loss is detected in a child who
hasn't been screened is 2 1-2 years," Sorkin said. "What that means
is that the child has been without the benefit of sound and language for an
extended period of time. By the time they enter school, even with the benefit of
the appropriate therapy and technology, they're already behind."
Still,
universal screenings are a fairly recent phenomena. Only 20 states
currently participate - although an estimated 24,000 otherwise healthy babies
are born with hearing impairment every year. Most Massachusetts hospitals now
participate in the program, and all are expected to do so by early next year.
"Without screenings, the newborn can miss an entire first year - and
often two or more years - of optimal language development," said Marilyn Neault,
the director of audiology at Children's Hospital in Boston. "That's the period
when their brains are like sponges.
"If parents don't know their baby is
deaf (or hearing impaired), they don't know to make the world more visually
accessible. These children don't grow up with an understanding that words and
signs are symbols with which to think."
Other problems involved with
undetected hearing loss can include behavioral issues (caused both by an
inability to hear and follow directions and by frustration) and social conflict,
when children can't understand their peers.
In fact, a study conducted
at the University of Colorado shows that a child's prognosis is more
affected by the time the hearing loss is detected than by the
severity of the hearing loss, Sorkin said.
Though many are surprised
that hearing loss can go so long undetected, Neault said that hearing
impairment - even in its most profound form - is an invisible
condition. "A deaf infant is a visually alert, normal infant who doesn't give
many clues for lack of hearing," she said.
"They are typically sparkly
children who are connected with their environment," she
continued. "They are sensitive to movement in the periphery, so they
might turn when someone enters the room. They use every cue for communication."
Little Adam Wolpert is a case in point. "They say if your
child doesn't startle, there might be a problem," said Sandy Yelen, Adam's
mother. "But Adam did startle. He also loves to listen to music and to our
voices."
According to his audiologist, Adam hears normal conversation as
though it were being whispered, misses some high frequency sounds and probably
cannot distinguish certain consonant sounds.
With hearing aids, which
he's been wearing since he was 3 months old, and with the benefit of regular
auditory verbal therapy, his prognosis is excellent. His language is expected to
develop normally, and his parents are confident that he'll attend his local
public school.
For children whose hearing loss is caught later, however,
the path is more complicated.
"It's very important to realize that any
level of hearing loss is significant," Sorkin said. "Even children with a
minimal loss have a high likelihood of failing a grade."
Hearing
screenings in adults usually involve a verbal repartee between tester and
patient; infant screenings are a physiological process.
One method, the
Auditory Brain Stem Response, measures tiny changes in the baby's brain wave
pattern in response to clicking sounds. The second testing method is the
Otoacoustic Emission test, in which a probe on the ear canal measures echoes
from the inner ear in response to sound. Both procedures can be administered
shortly after birth.
According to Neault, about 30 out of 1,000 newborns
are expected to be referred for further testing. Of those, about four will turn
out to have permanent hearing loss. Though the numbers might seem low, hearing
loss is the most common medical condition found in newborns.
Although a
diagnosis of hearing loss might be distressing, parents of affected children
consider early diagnosis a godsend.
"It's hard when your child is five
hours old to find out he's not perfect," Yelen said. "But when you put things
into perspective, you realize that a hearing impairment is not a terrible thing.
We're relieved that Adam's hearing loss was diagnosed early and that he's
getting the proper therapy."
For more information, contact the Alexander
Graham Bell Society's national chapter at (202) 337-5220; for the Massachusetts
chapter, contact Doris Betjemann at P.O. Box 826, Northampton, MA 01060; or
visit the organization's Web site at www.AGBell.org.
Photo Caption:
EARLY AWARENESS: Sandy Yelen of Westford holds her son, Adam Wolpert. Adam wears
hearing aids to offset his hearing loss, which was discovered by tests done
shortly after his birth. Staff photo by Ren Norton
LOAD-DATE: August 08, 1999
