Baby hearing test 'best in country'

Newborn hearing screening at Lincoln County Hospital has been hailed as exemplary.

Just five years ago the responsibility of picking up hearing difficulties was left to health visitors who looked for a response when waving a rattle behind the back of a six-month old baby.

But the test is much more hi-tech now with a small earpiece inserted into a baby's ear to detect whether it is picking up sound just a few hours after birth.

The Medical Research Council gave United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust a rating of 'well above average' in a recent inspection of all areas of the service including screening, audiology, medicine and early intervention.

The trust screens 6,000 babies a year for hearing problems, 3,500 of which are born in the Lincoln area.

Dr Neil Gravill, consultant clinical scientist at Lincoln County Hospital said it is important to identify problems early on before a baby gets behind in its development.

"If a youngster has a hearing loss then they try to use their other senses and develop much better use of their eyes," said Dr Gravill.

"So there was always a chance they might catch sight of the rattle when using the old rattle test.

"There was always a few babies picked up at two or three years old who passed the rattle test but then got to two or three and cannot talk properly due to their hearing."

Around 150 babies a year at Lincoln are referred to Dr Gravill as they have not given clear responses to the newborn hearing screening test.

For the full story see Tuesday's Lincolnshire Echo.