Hearing problems picked up too late

Child hearing disorders are often detected too late in New Zealand. The child and youth adviser of the Health Ministry acknowledges the need to strengthen efforts in this area, but no national hearing screening program is in sight.

New Zealand does 'very badly' at detecting hearing loss in children, Health Ministry child and youth chief adviser Pat Tuohy told The Dominion Post newspaper in New Zealand. Early detection of hearing loss in children is extremely important. Otherwise the consequences may include slow speech development and behavioral problems, as well. 'Though it is widely accepted that hearing loss should be identified within the first six months of life to enable treatment and normal development, most New Zealand children are not diagnosed until the age of three', explained Tuohy. Most US states have screening programmes in place for newborns. Similar programmes have been introduced in Europe. Deaf teacher, Janet Wilson, believes that New Zealand should follow suit. 'The earlier the intervention starts, the better the prognosis', she told The Dominion Post. According to Tuohy, a study is planned to determine the feasibility of instituting a national screening program. But it will be years before screening in such a programme will begin, he said. Emily Hunter, the leader of a screening project involving 1,000 newborns has no doubt, however, that the earliest possible detection of hearing loss in children would make economic sense, as well. 'Though screening would stretch resources in the next five years, it would be cost-effective in the long term', explained Emily Hunter, who is the coordinator of the Waikato newborn hearing screening programme. Source: The Dominion Post, 12.07.2004, www.dompost.co.nz