Numerous newborn infants are experiencing hearing impairment.
Many individuals experience hearing decline as they age, while others are born with hearing deficiencies. Numerous factors contribute to this, primarily genetic influences. Determining if your offspring will inherit this condition can be accomplished through a straightforward test.
The police badges on the vehicle suggest this hearing aid isn't owned by an elderly person. The young boy, aged seven, who uses it, was born with a moderate degree of hearing impairment. His condition deteriorated further, leading to the current use of cochlear implants on both sides. These devices enhance hearing via tiny electrical impulses.
Approximately one in 1000 newborns experience hearing impairments, as explained by Monika Tigges, head of phoniatrics and pediatric audiology at the City Clinic Karlsruhe. Genetic factors are responsible for about half to three-quarters of these cases, and this trend is increasing. Typically, issues arise in the inner ear, where hair cells fail to develop properly. These cells usually sway with sound and transmit this stimulus to the auditory nerve, as the professor explains. If this process doesn't function correctly, it can impair hearing.
Newborn Hearing Screening Notifications
This condition often becomes evident during a simple test where a device emits a sound into the ear and measures the reverberation. This test is usually conducted in the maternity ward, according to Tigges. Early identification of hearing impairments is crucial due to the importance of the early years for language development.
The parents of the seven-year-old from Karlsruhe view the implementation of newborn hearing screening as a significant milestone. However, in his case, the mother left the hospital shortly after birth, so the examination was postponed until six months later. "The diagnosis came as a shock initially," says the father.
Since then, the family has regularly attended appointments with an ENT doctor, an audiologist, a special education consultant, and specialists at the University Hospital in Freiburg, where the cochlear implant settings are adjusted every few months. "Both humans and machines require training," says the father.
Background noise disruptions
This technology stimulates the auditory nerve's nerve cells electrically. An electrode carrier is inserted into the cochlea, which hardly grows post-birth, making the operation possible from just one year old, according to Tigges. The outer part of the hearing aid consists of a microphone and a processor that converts sound information into electrical impulses.
For distances and noisy environments like kindergarten or school, there are networked microphones that allow parents or teachers' voices to be heard even over background noise. "We're grateful for these technological advancements," says the father.
However, the sound processor's capacity is limited when dealing with background noise. Even seemingly tranquil sounds like rustling leaves become challenging. "It's difficult for us parents to comprehend, as we don't encounter this as normal listeners." Additionally, the technology isn't entirely waterproof, and the brain must adapt to the new hearing method. As a result, the son had to relearn how to locate the source of a sound.
Hearing impairments present significant challenges for parents
According to the mother, making eye contact while speaking aids communication, as facial expressions also assist the son in understanding. "He can also read lips," she adds. Furthermore, it's essential to talk frequently. "Healthy children need to hear a word 100 times before they can speak it," she explains. With hearing impairment, it requires 200 times. "So I talk to him twice as much." The same applies to their younger brother, who was also born with hearing impairments.
Hearing loss in both ears and an early onset, as well as familial occurrence, are indicative of genetically caused hearing loss, according to Hanno Bolz from the Bioscientia consortium of medical laboratories. If there's a familial history, it's almost certain that the cause is hereditary. "More than half of the diseases are hereditary," Bolz says. This also applies to hearing losses that emerge later in childhood, adolescence, or early adulthood.
Identifying the cause
If a genetic cause is identified, it becomes known whether further symptoms can be anticipated, which specialists may need to be involved, and what routine check-ups are necessary. This enhances treatment efficiency, Bolz believes.
"And for many parents, especially with syndromes, it already helps to finally give a name to the often complex clinical picture," he says. "Or to know that they didn't do anything wrong during pregnancy." The parents of the two boys from Karlsruhe also wanted to know what to expect next, "whether anything else is to be expected." While it's not 100 percent certain, the father says that the more well-known syndromal diseases have been ruled out. Their oldest son, who could only speak 20 words at the age of two and a half, has almost caught up. "He has an extraordinary love for language." He has recently started school.
The significance of early newborn hearing screenings is underscored by the case of the boy from Karlsruhe. Regular appointments with medical professionals, including ENT doctors, audiologists, and specialists, have been crucial in managing his hearing impairment due to genetic factors.
Monika Tigges, a leading expert in phoniatrics and pediatric audiology, emphasizes that genetic factors account for about half to three-quarters of newborn hearing impairments, and this trend is on the rise.
