Ontario's Infant Hearing Program

The first months and years of a baby's life are critical for developing language. Most children can hear right from birth. They learn to talk by imitating the sounds around them and the voices of their parents and caregivers. But that's not true for every child.

Every year in Ontario, nearly four in 1,000 babies are born deaf or hard of hearing. More lose their hearing later as they grow. Many of these children may need to learn speech and language differently, so it's important to detect hearing loss as early as possible.

Why it's important to have your baby's hearing screened

It's really important to find out if your baby has hearing loss. Undetected hearing loss can cause delays in your baby's learning to talk. That can lead to behavioural and emotional problems and, later on, to problems in school.

The sooner hearing loss is identified, the better. There are many services available to help children with hearing loss. Finding out early means that they can get the help they need right away. And this gives them the same chance to develop language skills as hearing children.

How you can get your baby's hearing tested

Most newborns are automatically screened for hearing loss while in the hospital. If, for some reason, your baby's hearing wasn't tested before you went home from the hospital, you can contact your nearest Infant Hearing Program location for information.

Hearing screening - how it's done

There are two ways to screen a baby's hearing. From the baby's point of view, they are both very simple. Most babies will sleep through the whole process.

Automated Otoacoustic emissions (OAE)

This test shows whether parts of the ear respond properly to sound.

How it works

• a small earphone is placed in the baby's ear
• soft sounds are played through the earphone
• the ear's response is measured and recorded

Automated auditory brainstem response (ABR)

This test checks how the brain responds to sound.

• a small earphone is placed in the baby's ear
• three small sticky electrodes are placed on the forehead and behind the ears
• soft sounds are played through the earphone
• the brain's response is measured and recorded

What happens if the hearing screening shows a problem

If the results of your baby's hearing screening shows there may be a problem, you will be referred to an audiologist. This person is an expert in testing babies' hearing. If the audiologist finds that your baby does have a hearing problem, you'll be directed to the services and supports that can help you and your child.

Watch your child for signs of hearing loss

Hearing loss can cause delays in speech and language development. It's never too early to help your child learn language.

Publications

• Can your baby hear?
  • English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Italian, Korean, Polish, Portuguese,Punjabi, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Tamil, Urdu, Vietnamese
    
    
• Services for children who are deaf or hard of hearing
  • English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Italian, Korean,Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Tamil, Urdu, Vietnamese

Learn more

About what you can do to help your child develop strong speech and language skills.

• Learning to talk: developmental milestones
  Here are some of the milestones that mark the progress of young children as they learn to communicate, as well as some suggestions to help your child use words to solve problems, make choices, describe objects and events and share ideas.
• Developmental milestones in American Sign Language (ASL)
  Here are some of the milestones that mark the progress of young children as they learn to communicate in American Sign Language, as well as some suggestions for what you can do to help.