Information for parents
Children from the Hartlepool area are offered two hearing tests routinely, one shortly after birth as part of the newborn hearing screening program and another once they enter the reception year at school, as part of the school entry hearing screening program. These hearing tests aim to identify hearing loss in children, in order to offer appropriate help.
Hearing problems can affect the development of children’s speech and communication skills and ability to learn.
Currently, permanent hearing impairment affects every 1 in 1,000 live births in the UK but the number of children diagnosed with hearing loss increases (almost doubles) until around age nine. Some hearing losses are also temporary, although the length of time a child will experience this loss varies from child to child.
What happens during school screening?
School hearing screening takes place in the school environment and will be made into a game. Your child will be moved from their classroom with three of four other children and will go to a quieter part of the school with our trained clinician and often, a teaching assistant.
As part of a group, your child will be instructed to clap their hands when they hear a sound being played from some headphones sat on a desk. Once the clinician is happy that all children are taking part and understand the game, each child will be called up to put some headphones on to play the game on their own.
Your child will be asked to listen for different types of sounds in each ear and asked to clap again when they hear the sounds.
Four types of sounds are played at a set level in each ear, to see if the child responds. This set volume level sits within the ‘satisfactory’ range of hearing for that type of sound. If a child responds to each of the four sounds in both ears, the hearing screen is classed as satisfactory.
What are the possible outcomes?
The hearing screen will either be classed as ‘satisfactory’ or ‘requires further testing’.
What do the outcomes mean?
A satisfactory test means the child clapped for the four sounds that were presented in each ear and there are no concerns about hearing.
A screen which requires further testing means that the child did not respond for one or more of the test sounds, in one or both ears, and further testing is needed. This can indicate some degree of hearing loss, but there are many factors on the day which can contribute to children not responding during the test including tiredness, confidence and illness.
If a child needs further testing, when will this take place?
A second visit to school will be arranged six to eight weeks after the first visit, to re-test children who need further testing.
If a child needs further testing on our second visit to the school, they will be referred to audiology at One Life for further assessment.
If it has not been possible to test your child during the visit to school, due to lack of confidence or understanding, our screening technician may think it is better to bring the child into clinic with a parent or guardian. In these instances, an audiologist will call you to discuss this further before arranging a clinic appointment.
What happens if my child is absent on the day of testing?
If your child is absent on the first visit to school, we will try and test them if they are at school on the second visit.
If your child is absent on the second visit to school, but needed further assessment, they will be referred into audiology, One Life, for further assessment.
If your child is absent on both occasions, but you signed a consent form for them to be tested, a referral will be made to audiology, One Life for a full assessment.
Why do I need to sign a consent form?
We need parental consent to see your child for any procedure, if we do not have consent your child cannot be seen in school.
We need the consent form filled in as it is particularly important we have answers to the questions on the form relating to a programmable shunt placed in their head, as this is a safety issue when wearing headphones.
If my child has missed screening can they still be seen?
Yes! If there are any concerns about a child’s hearing, they can be seen in audiology for a full hearing assessment. Parents can make enquiries directly to audiology, or they can seek referrals via the GP or school nurse.
Our contact details are:
Audiology, One Life, Park Road, Hartlepool, TS24 7PW
Tel: 01429 522585
Email: [email protected]