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Early hearing test gave my lad the best start in life - Your Health - Lifestyle - ChronicleLive
Around two million babies have now been screened as part an NHS bid to detect hearing problems early. Health reporter JANE PICKEN speaks to one Northumberland family who were one of the first to benefit
A SIMPLE and quick test was all it took for doctors to discover that little Jack Bowman had a severe hearing problem.
Jack was just a day old when medics working on a pilot NHS scheme tested his hearing and found neither of ears were working properly, diagnosing sensory neural hearing loss.
But now aged five Jack, who lives with parents Nicola and David and his siblings Grace, four, and one-year-old James, in Cramlington, is completely at ease with his hearing aids and has grown to manage his condition well.
And his family believe it was that early diagnosis which made all the difference.
“ Jack is just like any other child and I think a lot of that is down to having the test so early,” said Nicola, 36.
“He has had hearing aids on both ears since he was nine weeks old. They were tiny and I couldn’t even imagine how they could fit something that small.
“But it’s all Jack has ever known, and now he is completely used to them. He’s also not had to play catch-up with the other children. He’s been able to develop like any other child.”
Northumberland was one of the pilot areas for the hearing screening programme, and as Jack was born at what is now Wansbeck Hospital, he immediately qualified for a test.
“I remember being given a form when I gave birth asking if I wanted to get Jack’s hearing tested,” explained Nicola. “As you do with every other check, I agreed straight away. They put a little probe into his ear and bounced sounds in and out of the ear. From this they can tell if there is a hearing problem.
“There was only a one in 1,000 chance of Jack having this, and it often happens to families where no-one else is hearing impaired, like our family.”
When he was four weeks old, Jack was tested again at Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital, and his hearing problems were confirmed.
“When we found out it was a total shock to us but we were so grateful we found out early,” said Nicola. “A lot of children don’t get a hearing problem diagnosed until they reach school.
“He goes to Northburn Primary School in Cramlington and is doing really well. Now he has regular appointments at the Freeman to maintain his hearing aids.
“And Jack is really comfortable with them now. He puts them in himself and knows how to change the battery.”
Thanks to the NHS Newborn Hearing Screening Programme, two million toddlers have now had their ears checked and more than 3,400 babies have been identified as having permanent hearing impairment or deafness.
This milestone has been welcomed by parents and support groups, including the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS), which campaigned for the service to be introduced for a number of years.
“The Newborn Hearing Screening Programme has the potential to revolutionise the lives of deaf children,” said Susan Daniels, chief executive of NDCS.
“Children being identified as deaf on day one should be achieving on a par with their hearing peers throughout their education and beyond.
“At present deaf children are underachieving at school. Only one in three deaf children achieve five GCSE A to C grades compared with more than half of their hearing peers. They are disadvantaged from the start.
“If the success of screening is followed by the provision of appropriate early support for families of every deaf child then we should see this attainment gap close.
“The screening programme is a fantastic start but it is just a start. Screening will only work if there truly is a full range of support and information available to all families.”
Early detection of deafness is vital in order to enable children to have the best possible opportunity to develop crucial language and communication skills.
A child’s first three years are when the most intensive language development takes place. An undiagnosed deaf child aged three will only know about 25 words, compared with 700 words for a hearing child of the same age.
Given the right support there is no reason for any deaf child to develop language at a slower rate than a hearing child with similar abilities.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Voice for the deaf
NDCS is a national charity didicated to creating a world without barriers for deaf children and young people.
They represent the interests and campaign for the rights of all deaf children and young people from birth to independence.
Three babies are born deaf every day and 90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents with little experience of deafness.
There are 35,000 deaf children in the UK.
Parents with concerns about their child's hearing can contact the NDCS Freephone Helpline on 0800 800 8880 (voice and text) or e-mail helpline@ndcs.org.uk or visit Homepage | NDCS
Around two million babies have now been screened as part an NHS bid to detect hearing problems early. Health reporter JANE PICKEN speaks to one Northumberland family who were one of the first to benefit
A SIMPLE and quick test was all it took for doctors to discover that little Jack Bowman had a severe hearing problem.
Jack was just a day old when medics working on a pilot NHS scheme tested his hearing and found neither of ears were working properly, diagnosing sensory neural hearing loss.
But now aged five Jack, who lives with parents Nicola and David and his siblings Grace, four, and one-year-old James, in Cramlington, is completely at ease with his hearing aids and has grown to manage his condition well.
And his family believe it was that early diagnosis which made all the difference.
“ Jack is just like any other child and I think a lot of that is down to having the test so early,” said Nicola, 36.
“He has had hearing aids on both ears since he was nine weeks old. They were tiny and I couldn’t even imagine how they could fit something that small.
“But it’s all Jack has ever known, and now he is completely used to them. He’s also not had to play catch-up with the other children. He’s been able to develop like any other child.”
Northumberland was one of the pilot areas for the hearing screening programme, and as Jack was born at what is now Wansbeck Hospital, he immediately qualified for a test.
“I remember being given a form when I gave birth asking if I wanted to get Jack’s hearing tested,” explained Nicola. “As you do with every other check, I agreed straight away. They put a little probe into his ear and bounced sounds in and out of the ear. From this they can tell if there is a hearing problem.
“There was only a one in 1,000 chance of Jack having this, and it often happens to families where no-one else is hearing impaired, like our family.”
When he was four weeks old, Jack was tested again at Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital, and his hearing problems were confirmed.
“When we found out it was a total shock to us but we were so grateful we found out early,” said Nicola. “A lot of children don’t get a hearing problem diagnosed until they reach school.
“He goes to Northburn Primary School in Cramlington and is doing really well. Now he has regular appointments at the Freeman to maintain his hearing aids.
“And Jack is really comfortable with them now. He puts them in himself and knows how to change the battery.”
Thanks to the NHS Newborn Hearing Screening Programme, two million toddlers have now had their ears checked and more than 3,400 babies have been identified as having permanent hearing impairment or deafness.
This milestone has been welcomed by parents and support groups, including the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS), which campaigned for the service to be introduced for a number of years.
“The Newborn Hearing Screening Programme has the potential to revolutionise the lives of deaf children,” said Susan Daniels, chief executive of NDCS.
“Children being identified as deaf on day one should be achieving on a par with their hearing peers throughout their education and beyond.
“At present deaf children are underachieving at school. Only one in three deaf children achieve five GCSE A to C grades compared with more than half of their hearing peers. They are disadvantaged from the start.
“If the success of screening is followed by the provision of appropriate early support for families of every deaf child then we should see this attainment gap close.
“The screening programme is a fantastic start but it is just a start. Screening will only work if there truly is a full range of support and information available to all families.”
Early detection of deafness is vital in order to enable children to have the best possible opportunity to develop crucial language and communication skills.
A child’s first three years are when the most intensive language development takes place. An undiagnosed deaf child aged three will only know about 25 words, compared with 700 words for a hearing child of the same age.
Given the right support there is no reason for any deaf child to develop language at a slower rate than a hearing child with similar abilities.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Voice for the deaf
NDCS is a national charity didicated to creating a world without barriers for deaf children and young people.
They represent the interests and campaign for the rights of all deaf children and young people from birth to independence.
Three babies are born deaf every day and 90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents with little experience of deafness.
There are 35,000 deaf children in the UK.
Parents with concerns about their child's hearing can contact the NDCS Freephone Helpline on 0800 800 8880 (voice and text) or e-mail helpline@ndcs.org.uk or visit Homepage | NDCS