Jakob was born at Hilleroed Hospital on April 9, 2005, the second child of Lars and Karin, and Julie’s little brother. Both parents were grateful for the opportunity to have their new baby’s hearing screened as their first child Julie had been examined by an ENT physician at 19 months owing to a suspicion of hearing impairment. Fortunately, nothing was wrong with her hearing, but like many other kids, she was just a little slow at learning to speak.
What information did
you receive before the screening?
Karin “It was presented to us as voluntary – I was given an appointment for the hearing test before I left the hospital.”
Lars “We were given an appointment, but I understood it to be an option. Which was fine with us.”
Had you heard about the screening program before you were given the info material? Had you read about it in the newspaper or heard about it on TV?
Lars ”Yes, I had read that they were going to offer hearing screening in Denmark to all newborn babies. Then we received the offer – and wanted to do it.”
Karin ”I can’t remember how I first heard about it, but I was very positive and realized that it was beneficial.”
Please describe what happened when you came for the screening? You had to return to the hospital several days after you had been discharged – did all three of you come?
Lars ”Yes, all three of us came and sat down in the waiting room. We were glad that we had come in good time because there were so many other people waiting there. But we didn’t have to wait long as the testing was so quick.”
Karin ”The hearing test was done first and then the blood test [PKU]. Jakob was asleep so we just put the lift on the table next to the test device and then it was in one ear, turn the head and into the other ear – and that was that.”
What kind of personnel performed the hearing test?
Karin ”It was a biomedical analyst.
So the screening itself was quick and easy?
Lars ”Yes, it was very easy and quickly over. Jakob was fast asleep, which was good as we had been told that he had to be quiet and still otherwise it would affect the measurement. So that was fine, and she just put the probe in the ear, pressed a button and waited a few moments before doing the same on the other ear. And then we were done.”
How long do you reckon the test itself took?
Karin ”About 2-3 minutes. Quick and painless.”
Lars ”Of course, I was interested in how long the screening program had been running and what it had been like so far. She replied that the equipment was super, and that they had been screening for 1½ months doing about 16 babies per day. In that period, they had referred four babies for further testing and three had in fact had hearing problems. She knew of other counties where they were using different equipment and where they had referred a lot of cases, but where it had turned out that there was nothing actually wrong with the hearing.”
In other words, false positives?
Lars ”Yes, and they were very sorry about that because it causes a lot of unnecessary worry on the part of the parents. So in that way, she was very positive about the program.”
Karin ”She also said that the instrument was very user-friendly compared to others.”
Lars ”With this one, you just had to press one button, and it did all the rest by itself. It was very simple and nothing went wrong – it worked fine.”
What was your impression of how the biomedical analyst went about the task of screening?
Lars ”She acted like she’d been doing it for ever.”
Karin ”Yes, the whole procedure was relaxed and quiet, and she had time to answer questions, including the more technical ones Lars was asking.”
What about cleaning the equipment? Can you remember whether she took off the eartip when she was finished?
Karin ”Yes, when she began preparing for the next one.”
Now it must have been cold and Jakob was probably wearing lots of overclothes – can you recall how much you had to take off for the test?
Karin ”He was wearing a hat, which we took off when we arrived.”
Were you at all worried about anything before or during the test, e.g. whether it might hurt the baby?
Lars ”No, I was a bit anxious about him waking up, but when we got in there and saw how things were going, I wasn’t at all worried any more – she was evidently very much on top of things, and Jakob didn’t react at all.”
Karin ”Yes, she just said that she was putting the tip into the ear, and that he wouldn’t feel anything, and that was it. Nothing special. No elaborate explanations were required.”
It probably helped that you were all confident right from the start?
Lars ”Yes, it all seemed to be very professional.”
Were you at all worried that your baby’s hearing might be impaired?
Karin ”Yes, I suppose you’re always worried about the outcome before a test like that.”
Lars ”Yes, a little, but the whole idea is to find out if there’s anything wrong, so we were certainly happy to have Jakob’s hearing tested. We didn’t assume there was anything wrong, but you can’t know for sure so it was great to get the green light and now we don’t have to worry any more about Jakob’s hearing.”
To set the record straight, were you satisfied with the result?
Karin ”Yes, we were.”
Lars ”Yes, and as far as I remember, when I asked about the test, she said she had made a good measurement and everything was normal.”
Was the room where the test was done quiet?
Karin ”Yes, it was very quiet.”
Did you notice what happened to the test results, i.e. the baby’s name, ID number and pass results?
Lars ”I think she just wrote it down somewhere, but I don’t really remember.”
I asked because the instrument is also designed to transfer data to a PC, but that doesn’t necessarily have to happen at once. You can test 100 babies and then download data at the end of the day. Did she enter any data before the test?
Lars ”I just remember her picking up the instrument and starting testing.”
In conclusion, you’ve both been very positive about the whole test process. But do you have any suggestions for improvements?
Lars ”We were given a brochure to read beforehand and it was certainly an advantage to know something about it in advance. That was fine. Then we were informed that everything was OK and that the technology was very reliable.”
Karin ”I certainly don’t think there was anything that could be done better.”
Lars ”Of course, it would have been better if they could have done the test before Karin was discharged – then we wouldn’t have to drive all the way back to Hilleroed.”
Well, it’s a problem when you’re already discharged two days after birth. According to the literature, the best results are obtained when screening between the third and tenth days. During the first 48 hours, there’s the likelihood that vernix, or baby fat, in the ear canals will adversely affect the measurement. This is difficult to avoid nowadays because people leave so soon after birth. By the way, was the ear canal inspected prior to the test?
Lars ”Yes.”
Is it really true that you wouldn’t have had to drive back to the hospital? You’d have to return for the blood test in the heel at some point shortly after birth?”
Lars ”Yes, that’s true. With regards to why we felt it was a good idea to test him, this was mainly due to our experiences with Julie, our eldest. That’s when we first found out that the child’s development could be impaired if hearing loss was discovered late. I think that we have understood how important it is. And that’s why I find hearing screening so interesting.”
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