New-born Hearing Screening

All babies on the Isle of Man are offered a hearing screen when they are born. Babies who do not get a clear response during this screen are seen by Children’s Audiology at Westmorland Road for further tests on their hearing. We are able to test for all types of hearing problems in babies using tests such as auditory brainstem response tests, otoacoustic emissions and tympanometry.

Auditory brainstem response testing and otoacoustic emissions testing require your child to be asleep as the response to be detected is very small and can be hidden if there is a lot of movement.

If a baby gets a clear response on the hearing screen it means they are unlikely to have hearing loss. However, a small number of children can develop or acquire a hearing loss later on in childhood, so if you or anyone else is concerned about their hearing, it is important to get it checked.