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| San Antonio Express-News |
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| Metro / South Texas Page 4B |
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Hearing tests helping infants
Early detection, correction lead to better verbal skills. |
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| Cindy Tumiel EXPRESS-NEWS STAFF WRITER
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| Publication Date : April 5, 2003 |
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Two babies are born every day in Texas
with significant hearing losses that could have a lifelong
impact on their ability to speak, read and learn.
But a statewide newborn screening program is helping parents
spot hearing-impaired babies when they are just hours old,
and educators say the early detection is paying benefits
for these youngsters.
Research shows that babies whose hearing impairments are
detected and corrected before the age of 6 months will have
better speech and a better vocabulary by age 3 than those
whose hearing problems were detected later.
Other studies are showing that auditory stimulation is a
key element in the crucial brain development that takes
place in the first months of life, said Jacque Patton, chairwoman
of audiology at the Sunshine Cottage, a San
Antonio school for hearing-impaired children.
Sounds stimulate the brain and help infants develop neural
pathways they will use the rest of their lives, Patton said
during a session at the American Academy of Audiology meeting
in San Antonio.
"If the auditory centers don't develop, they will have significant
problems as they get older," she said.
About 7,000 hearing specialists and educators are in town
for the convention, which ends today.
Texas is one of 37 states that requires hospitals to screen
newborns for hearing problems. The program was implemented
in 2000.
Texas is now one of the top-performing states in the nation,
screening 96 percent of the babies born each year, said
Elizabeth Thorp, director of a national screening campaign
for the Deafness Research Foundation. But federal funds
to continue programs are in jeopardy, she said.
"Texas is doing very well, but if no federal dollars are
distributed to the states, we could see the percentage of
children screened go down," Thorp said.
Because of early screening, Sunshine Cottage
has about a dozen children who got hearing aids as infants
and started getting therapy within weeks of their birth.
Some are now almost 3 years old and speak as well as children
without hearing problems, Patton said.
"We are definitely seeing results from identifying the children
early," she said. "They are progressing faster. Some of
them are on the same level as their hearing peers."
ctumiel@express-news.net
"We are definitely seeing results from identifying the children
early. They are progressing faster."
Jacque Patton
chairwoman of audiology at the Sunshine Cottage
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