Right From the Start

From the moment of birth, hearing plays a critical role in child development. Through hearing, infants learn to interpret the world around them. They startle when hearing loud sounds, and quickly and naturally learn to recognize their parents’ voices.

As babies grow, hearing becomes essential to the development of their receptive and expressive spoken language skills. Approximately three in every 1,000 children in the U.S. are born with some type of hearing problem. With early detection and intervention programs, these children can get the help they need to hear – right from the start. Early diagnosis and treatment Professionals agree that the first few years of life are the most critical period for speech and language development. During this time, a child’s social, emotional, and cognitive skills are also being formed. An undetected or untreated hearing loss can have a negative impact in all developmental areas. Because of the plasticity of the developing brain, both audiology and child development experts endorse early identification and remediation of hearing loss in infants.

Thanks to advances in medical technology and the efforts of Hearing Care Professionals, hearing loss can now be detected even before a newborn leaves the hospital. A complete diagnosis and treatment program can then follow in the coming weeks and months, taking full advantage of this critical time in an infant’s development, and ensuring that his or her full potential is realized.

Contact a Local Hearing Care Professional

To get more information, contact a Hearing Care Professional. To find one in your area, enter your ZIP code in the form on the left, or go to our search page to search by an entire state. Make sure that the Hearing Care Professional you choose offers pediatric services.