Hearing tests for children

Screening tests

In many countries, newborn babies have their hearing tested before they leave hospital. These tests are quick and painless and are often done while your baby is sleeping. Identifying a hearing loss in babies at a very early stage allows parents and doctors to plan the best treatment and intervene early to give the baby the best chance of learning spoken language.
If your baby did not receive a hearing test when they were very young, it's a good idea to ask for one.

Otoacoustic Emissions Test (OAE)

a small device connected to a machine is placed in the baby's ear
the machine sends sounds to the inner ear (cochlea)
the "echo" of the sound coming from the inner ear is recorded
the "echo" is compared with normal inner ear function

Automated auditory brainstem response (AABR)

a small device that makes special sounds is placed in the baby's ear
a machine measures the hearing nerve's response to the sounds
the response is matched to infants with normal hearing

Abnormal screening test results don’t mean a definite hearing problem. If your baby fails one of the screening tests, you should visit a children’s hearing specialist for a full hearing evaluation.

Full hearing evaluation tests

These are done by an audiologist or an ENT (ear, nose and throat specialist). They might include some or all of the following tests:

Test	Age of infant/child	What happens
Diagnostic Auditory Brainstem Response	under 6 months	Like a screening test, but shows more detailed results
Visual Reinforcement Audiometry (VRA)	6 months to 2 years	Using earphones or speakers the child is trained to turn toward a sound using a reward system (shown an appealing visual image)
Conditioned Play Audiometry (CPA)	2 years to 4 years	The child is asked to do something when they hear a sound (like put a ring on a peg). This is similar to a test for adults, who press a button or raise their hand when they hear a sound
Tympanometry	any age	Tests how the child’s eardrum moves using soft sounds and air. It "sees" middle ear problems (like fluid behind the eardrum)