Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis: Pediatric Audiology

About Us

Careers

Site Map

Health Care Services

Hospitals & Facilities

Health Information

Find a Doctor

Why Choose Baptist

Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis

Pediatric Audiology

Pediatric Services

Health Tip

Dry- or oil-roasted nuts have about the same number of fat grams and calories. The fat comes from the nut themselves; even if oil-roasted, they don’t absorb much of the oil.

Daily Bread

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
Psalm 150:6

The Pediatric Audiology Center provides a wide range of services, from hearing screenings for all newborn babies at Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women to speech-language and aural habilitation therapy. Auditory diagnostic testing and speech-language evaluations are offered, as well. The center also provides educational placement for hearing-impaired children at the Pediatric Audiology Preschool Program for children ages two through five.

This integrated program, supported by a grant from the Baptist Memorial Health Care Foundation, educates hearing-impaired children alongside their hearing peers. The goal is to provide specialized education that focuses on teaching language skills so children with hearing impairments can thrive in the world. Children learn more about listening, speaking, reading, phonics, math and music in the program.

For more information about the audiology program, please e-mail us at audiology@bmhcc.org.

Screening Tests

Just imagine trying to learn a new language if you couldn’t hear well – or at all! That’s what babies who have undiagnosed hearing losses experience. We don’t want that to happen to any child. Since babies learn to use and understand language by listening to and imitating the sounds they hear, we test the hearing of every baby born in our hospital using the latest technology as soon as possible after babies are born.

Audiologists use two kinds of screening tests to test newborns’ hearing. Auditory brainstem response, which is performed by placing sensors on babies’ heads and cheeks, measures the response of the auditory nerve to a soft clicking noise. Otoacoustic emissions testing measures the response of the hair cells of the inner ear to sounds by putting a small microphone in babies’ ears. Both tests involve the measurement of very small physiological responses to sound; that’s why it’s necessary to have sleeping babies to get an accurate measurement. Both tests, which are safe and painless, take only minutes to complete.

Things Parents Need to Know

Children who have normal hearing at birth can develop hearing problems during infancy. Childhood diseases and infections, such as mumps, measles and meningitis, can cause hearing loss in children. Also, significant middle ear problems – middle ear fluid build-up over a long period of time and/or middle ear infections – can cause hearing loss. While babies can’t express their discomfort, there are things parents can watch for during the early months and years of their babies’ lives:

Irritability or fussiness
Head shaking
Trouble sleeping, especially if accompanied by a fever
Pulling at or rubbing of the ears, especially if accompanied by congestion

Other Tips to Keep Your Baby Hearing Healthy Include:

Give your child all of the medication prescribed to treat infections; otherwise the infection can come back even stronger.
Avoid feeding your baby with a bottle while lying down – this can promote ear infections.
Consult your pediatrician as soon as possible for a hearing test if you think your child isn’t hearing properly – you will be the first one to notice if your child has a hearing loss.

Risk Factors for Developing Hearing Loss During Early Childhood:

Family history of childhood hearing loss
Maternal infection during pregnancy, such as cytomegalovirus, measles, herpes, toxoplasmosis and syphilis
Birth weight of less than 3 pounds, 4 ounces
Jaundice, especially involving transfusion
Ototoxic medication in doses exceeding a five-day duration
Bacterial meningitis
Low APGAR score at birth
Prolonged mechanical ventilation
Cleft lip or palate, mis-shapen ears, patches of missing skin color, different color eyes or a patch of white hair
Head trauma associated with loss of consciousness or skull fracture
Neurodegenerative disorders

All infants with any of the above risk factors should receive hearing testing every six months until they are at least 3 years old.

Hearing, Speech and Language Milestones

0 to 3 months

Calms to familiar voices
Makes sounds, such as whimpering, squealing and chuckling

3 to 6 months

Turns eyes and head to search for sound location
Responds to mother’s voice
Enjoys noise-making toys such as rattles
Enjoys making babbling sounds (ba-ba, ma-ma, oooh...)

6 to 9 months

Responds to own name
Understands no and bye-bye
Responds to sounds (telephone, doorbell, someone’s voice...)
Imitates speech and non-speech sounds (tongue clicking, lip smacking...)

9 to 12 months

Begins responding to requests (come here, give me)
Uses two to three words besides mama and dada
Imitates simple words and sounds
Responds to singing or music

12 to 18 months

Points or looks at familiar objects when given instruction
Locates sound in all directions
Indicates wants by using words
Follows simple commands
Uses 10 to 20 words
Enjoys stories and rhymes

18 to 24 months

Begins speaking in two-word phrases
Recognizes environmental sounds (car, doorbell, dog...)
Uses 20 or more words
Repeats phrases
Follows simple commands without visual cues

Top of Page