The challenge of ‘hidden disability’Premium

Under the NBS, newborns are screened for communication disorders before they are discharged from the hospital. For this, AIISH has collaborated with several hospitals to conduct screening which is performed to detect hearing impairment and other developmental disabilities that can affect speech and language development. The screening has been helping in early intervention for those identified with the disorders, as any delay in the identification poses risk and affects successful management of children with hearing loss, according to AIISH.

As late identification of hearing problems among the newborns can result in permanent hearing loss, early screening is being done on a priority, with the Mysuru-based All India Institute of Speech and Hearing (AIISH), a premier institute in the field of speech and hearing under the Union Ministry of Health and Family, successfully running Newborn Screening (NBS) programme for communication disorders for early identification of hearing loss in infants.

Under the NBS, newborns are screened for communication disorders before they are discharged from the hospital. For this, AIISH has collaborated with several hospitals to conduct screening which is performed to detect hearing impairment and other developmental disabilities that can affect speech and language development. The screening has been helping in early intervention for those identified with the disorders, as any delay in the identification poses risk and affects successful management of children with hearing loss, according to AIISH.

AIISH has been running campaigns for early interventions and joined hands with various hospitals in Mysuru and elsewhere in the State, besides select locations in the country. “Children born with hearing loss will not develop speech since they don’t hear it and therefore early interventions are a must,” said experts at AIISH here.

According to AIISH, the first three years of life is the most crucial period for acquiring speech and language skills. Babies acquire speech and language from the time they are born, and one of the ways they learn is through hearing. If they have any problem with hearing and/or other disorders they may have delayed speech and language development, it explains.

As part of NBS, over 60,000 infants are screened every year using the state-of-art technology within seven days of their birth at the identified hospitals. The newborns who did not pass the screening test were evaluated in detail within two months of their birth to confirm the presence of hearing loss.

However, recent data from the NBS programme has caused an alarm as approximately five in every 1,000 babies are born with hearing loss daily, and for about two of these infants, the hearing loss is permanent. “Over 95% of hearing loss cases stem from damage to the inner ear, which often is not visible to the naked eye. It is called a hidden disability,” explains AIISH’s audiologists Indira C.P. and Dr. Sandeep M., from the Department of Prevention of Communication Disorders.

The only reliable methods for detecting hearing loss in newborns are objective tests like otoacoustic emissions (OAE) and auditory brainstem responses (ABR). Without these tests, hearing loss may go undetected, preventing children from developing speech. It is scientifically well-established that early intervention is crucial, they explain.