NT Newborn Hearing Screening program
The Northern Territory (NT) Newborn Hearing Screening (NHS) program aims to identify babies born with a permanent hearing loss.
The newborn hearing screening should be done before you and your baby leave hospital.
Find out more below. You can also watch the following video.
Why newborns need a hearing screen
A small number of babies are born with a permanent hearing loss. This means the baby can't hear sounds normally.
Hearing loss may not be obvious in the first few weeks of life, but can be found by doing a hearing screen.
Checking your baby's hearing early can help you find out if further hearing support or advice is needed.
If a hearing loss is not picked up at an early stage, it could affect your child's:
- speech and language development
- future learning at school
- social development.
Who gets a hearing screen
Hearing screening is offered to all newborns at any of these public birthing hospitals in the NT:
- Royal Darwin
- Alice Springs
- Katherine
- Gove District.
Where possible, screening is done before you and your baby leave the hospital. If this doesn't happen, an outpatient appointment will be scheduled for screening.
If you’ve had a home birth, ask your midwife to refer your baby to the NT NHS program to be seen as an outpatient.
If your baby wasn't born in the NT and hasn't had a hearing screen, contact the hearing screeners or maternity services at your regional hospital.
How the hearing screen is done
A newborn hearing screener or trained nurse will check your baby's hearing while they are resting quietly or asleep.
It only takes a few minutes and you can stay with your baby.
The hearing screening will not hurt your baby.
Three gel pads will be placed on the baby’s head and shoulders and:
- a soft earphone will be lightly placed over each ear
- gentle clicking sounds will be played into the ears
- responses to the sounds will be recorded and saved onto a screening device.
Results
When the screening is completed, the results are explained and then recorded in your baby's NT child health record, also called the yellow book.
Your baby will have either a 'pass' or 'refer' result:
- a pass means that it's unlikely your baby has a hearing loss that will affect their speech and language development
- a refer result means that a second test is needed.
A second screening might be needed because:
- the baby was unsettled during the screen
- there was too much background noise
- there was fluid or temporary blockage in the ears from birth
- there could be short-term or permanent hearing loss.
After the second screening, if there is still uncertainty, the baby will be referred for a diagnostic test.
Diagnostic hearing test
An auditory brainstem response (ABR) test may be needed if, your baby:
- receives 2 ‘refer’ results during their newborn hearing screen
- can't have the newborn hearing screen for medical reasons
- has a medical condition linked to hearing loss.
The ABR test is a safe and painless assessment that helps determine:
- whether any hearing loss is temporary or permanent
- how much hearing loss is present
- whether one or both ears are affected.
Your baby’s test will be carried out by a trained audiologist.
In some cases more than one appointment may be needed to gather all the information.
To learn more about the ABR test, watch the video below or read your baby's diagnostic hearing test brochure PDF (866.7 KB).
Babies with a risk factor for hearing loss
If your baby passed the newborn hearing screening but has a risk factor for hearing loss, free follow-up hearing tests will be made from 8 months old.
Different risk factors need follow-up for different lengths of time.
Children with a risk factor have a higher chance of hearing loss developing as they get older.
To find out more, get the targeted surveillance - NT newborn hearing screen program brochure PDF (808.4 KB).
Contacts
If your baby did not get a newborn hearing screening, you can make an appointment by calling:
- Royal Darwin Hospital - 08 8922 8888
- Alice Springs Hospital - 08 8951 7777
- Katherine District Hospital - 08 8973 9211
- Gove District Hospital - 08 8987 0211
For details about the NHS program not related to your baby's screening, call NT Hearing Services on 08 8922 7110.