Hearing loss is the most important factor that delays and impairs a child's ability to speak by producing the sounds that are unique to that language. In children born with hearing loss or exposed to trauma, disease or ototoxic medication after birth (in newborn or infancy) that may cause hearing loss, if hearing loss is not diagnosed early and they are not included in rehabilitation programs, their psychological and social development will be inadequate and in the following years they will lag behind their peers in terms of education and social adaptation, age and intelligence.
One to three out of every thousand newborn babies are born with severe hearing loss. This rate increases to 6 per thousand due to childhood illnesses, ear infections, accidents and certain medications. Babies experience a period of rapid development in terms of body and mind in the first two years of their lives. The basis of the language that people will use is formed by hearing the sounds specific to that language and listening to speech. A baby born with a hearing impairment and whose impairment is not recognized stops developing language and slows down its mental, social and spiritual development. In parallel with the language development of babies who are diagnosed early and rehabilitated early; their mental, social and spiritual development is also positively affected. Babies who are diagnosed with hearing impairment within six months of birth at the latest and who are provided with hearing aids and special education can develop speech skills at a level similar to their normal peers.
Diagnosing hearing loss in babies has become easier in parallel with the developing technology. Waiting for babies to grow up or wasting time for these evaluations can cause irreparable consequences. Hearing loss in the newborn period can be diagnosed early with simple, inexpensive and very easy to apply tests that can be applied in the first days of the baby's birth. The Newborn Hearing Screening Program has been carried out in our country since 2008 in order to carry out hearing screening, definitive diagnosis, hearing aid application and necessary (re)habilitation work in order to detect babies born with hearing impairment at an early stage. Within the scope of this program, hearing screening is carried out in our screening centers, which include public, university and private hospitals in 81 provinces. Babies who fail the screening are referred to diagnostic centers called reference centers for further tests.
Our goal is to be able to apply hearing screening tests to every newborn born in all our hospitals in 81 provinces, in the same hospital before they are discharged, to complete screening tests in the first 1 month, to diagnose babies with hearing loss in the first 3 months, and to provide healthy individuals to the society by providing the device and (re)habilitation of our babies who need devices diagnosed with hearing loss in 6 months.
Hearing is of great importance not only in infancy but also at every stage of childhood. Hearing loss can also occur in the postnatal period due to infections, traumas and genetic diseases that cause progressive hearing loss. Hearing is the most important component for education and communication. It becomes even more important during the school years. The prevalence of permanent hearing loss is reported to rise to nine per thousand in the school-age population. Permanent or temporary hearing loss in one or both ears affects more than 14% (one in seven) of school-age children. Even with unilateral hearing loss, the grade repetition rate is reported to be 37%. Hearing loss increases difficulties in attention, learning and social functioning. Hearing loss in children can negatively affect their academic success and psychosocial development if it is not recognized and intervened early.
Hearing screenings are included in school screenings in many countries around the world. In our country, the School Age Hearing Screening Program was initiated in 81 provinces in 2015. The aim of the school-age hearing screening program is to detect, diagnose and rehabilitate hearing loss in school-age children at an early stage. Within the scope of the Screening Program, students attending the 1st grade of primary school are screened with a screening audiometer device by health personnel trained in hearing screening in the school environment within the framework of the determined protocols. Children with suspected hearing loss as a result of the screening are referred to ear, nose and throat specialists in the province.
Our aim is to ensure that every child with hearing loss can lead their lives on equal footing with their peers through early intervention and to create a healthy generation. Every child has the right to start life in a healthy way.