DATE: Monday, May 12, 1997                  TAG: 9705090002

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B6   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Editorial 

                                            LENGTH:   38 lines

HEARING TESTS LISTEN UP

If state legislators listen to a group of Eastern Virginia Medical School researchers, Virginia could be a national leader in the early detection of hearing problems.

The researchers want Virginia lawmakers to mandate a simple hearing test for all newborns - before babies leave the hospital.

Staff writer Liz Szabo reported this week that six out of 1,000 newborns suffer from hearing impairments. Unfortunately, hearing problems are usually not detected until a child is 2 or 3 years old, causing the child to miss out on the most critical years of language acquisition.

The average deaf high school student reads at only a fourth-grade level, largely because of inadequate early language stimulation, Szabo reported.

Conventional hearing tests do not work on newborns, but a relatively new ``automated auditory brain-stem response'' test that measures a baby's brain wave response to a series of clicks has been used by EVMS researchers with astounding success. They report no false positive or negative results. Babies who show a hearing deficiency are referred to audiologists.

Infants who are diagnosed with hearing problems can be fitted with hearing aids, given language therapy or surgery to correct the problem.

The new hearing test can be administered by a portable machine that could be easily taken to the most remote corners of the commonwealth. The estimated cost of the test is between $18 and $35. If legislators mandate the test, they should also require health insurance companies to pay for the testing or provide needed funding. The Virginia Medical Society supports the mandated testing of all newborns with the device.

State legislators should listen carefully to the EVMS researchers. A law to mandate hearing tests for all Virginia infants is worth supporting. It could save taxpayers money in the long run if hearing-impaired children don't spend their school years trying to make up for lost time.

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