In a position statement being issued Monday, the Canadian Paediatric Society is calling on all provinces to implement universal newborn hearing screening, saying that testing and early intervention prevents severe and costly developmental delays.
"Virtually every developed country has a screening program. It's shameful that Canada doesn't," Dr. Hema Patel, a staff pediatrician at Montreal Children's Hospital and lead author of the statement, said in an interview.
Only Ontario and British Columbia have universal programs, and Quebec has announced plans to create one. Other provinces tend only to test babies at high risk of hearing loss, such as preemies and those suffering serious infections like meningitis.
The CPS said a "comprehensive and linked system of screening, diagnosis and intervention" is needed and because health is a provincial responsibility, the group called on the provinces to unite their efforts to create a national program.
Hearing loss is one of the most common congenital disorders, affecting about five in every 1,000 newborns, but about half of those affected have no obvious risk factors.
"We had no clue our son had something wrong with his hearing," said Jennifer Beer, a Toronto mother.
Her son Harry was tested by the midwife shortly after birth and then referred to a public health nurse and an audiologist for further testing.
By three months, he was diagnosed with bilateral moderately severe hearing loss and fitted with hearing aids. Harry, now aged four, has normal linguistic skills and he has also learned American Sign Language at his preschool.
"I can't imagine what life would have been like if he hadn't been screened," Ms. Beer said. "It wasn't all sunshine and daisies but we got an early diagnosis and Harry got the help he needed."
Dr. Patel said early diagnosis of hearing loss is essential so that a child can acquire language skills – either spoken or ASL. But, where there is no universal screening, children tend not to be diagnosed before age two – when toddlers generally start speaking – and often not until they attend school.
"When there is hearing loss, parts of the brain don't develop so there is a profound, life-long effect," Dr. Patel said.
The principal one is difficulty learning, and that is costly. A Quebec study estimated that a universal hearing program would result in an annual savings of $1.7-million in that province alone because special education classes are much more costly than treating hearing loss – $17,904 annually for a hard-of-hearing student compared with $4,808 for a hearing student.
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