What causes hearing loss in children and infants?
While most children are born with normal hearing, six newborns out of 1,000 present hearing loss in one or both ears.
Nearly half of these children have risk factors (family history, prematurity, complications during pregnancy), the other half do not. So it is very important to screen for hearing loss in all children in order to intervene as required, and to do so as quickly as possible.
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What are the consequences of undetected hearing loss in children and infants?
Identifying deafness in newborns as soon as possible is vital to ensuring the most “normal” development possible for these children. Indeed, the first years of life are crucial for language and speech development.
Children with hearing loss, regardless of the degree, face the risk of delays in social skills and learning. Deafness has a major impact on children of all ages. Rapid detection of a hearing deficiency helps minimize the negative impacts of the loss.