Newborn hearing screening

All babies born in Queensland, including home births, can access a newborn hearing screening. The screen is part of Queensland Health’s newborn care services to ensure every child reaches optimum speech and language development. Ideally the hearing screen will be done in hospital, or within 1-2 weeks of birth.

Screening is free for babies eligible/or enrolled for an Australian Medicare card. Non-Medicare eligible families must have finalised payment in full for delivery and postnatal care for the baby to access the hearing screen.

Newborn screening hospitals

Contact your local maternity hospital for more information about screening your newborn while in hospital or to arrange an outpatient screening appointment. For home birthed babies, discuss referral to appropriate service with your midwife.

Outpatient screenings

If your baby was not born in Queensland but your family moved to Queensland shortly after the birth, your baby can be referred for a hearing screen by the screening team in their state of birth. You can also contact your local birthing hospital or Healthy Hearing head office team to arrange a screen.

What does the screening involve?

The non-invasive screening process is performed by a specialised trained nurse with a parent’s consent.

Several small pads are placed gently on your baby’s head and a soft earphone is lightly placed over each ear. Soft clicking sounds will then play into your baby’s ears and their responses to these sounds are recorded.  The result is known immediately and will be either a ‘pass’ or a ’refer’.

A PASS result indicates that your baby hears at levels required for normal speech and language development at the time of the screen, but hearing can change. It is important to monitor using the hearing and speech checklist in ‘Your baby’s hearing screen brochure’ and discuss any concerns with your GP.

If your baby receives a refer result, they will need to have a second screening test.  A ‘refer’ result can be caused by a number of things:

• your baby was unsettled during the screen
• there may have been background noise during the screen
• your baby may have fluid or a temporary blockage in the ear after birth
  • a small number of babies may have a temporary or permanent hearing loss. The degree of loss can vary from mild through to profound.

If the second test also returns a refer result, they will be referred to an audiologist for further tests.  Our brochure ‘Your baby’s audiology hearing test’ explains why your baby has been referred and the next steps.

The screening nurse will record the results in your baby’s Personal Health Record. Ask questions if there is anything you are not sure of.

A small number of babies may pass the screen, but have known risk factors for types of hearing loss which take longer to appear. If this is the case, your baby will be offered a hearing test with an audiologist sometime before their first birthday.

The timing of this test will depend on your child’s specific needs. While very few babies with these risk factors will develop a hearing loss, it is important to ensure your baby has their test.

Please note: If your baby is diagnosed with a hearing loss, the Healthy Hearing program provides additional services, including a medical investigation, support services and early intervention to help you and your child reach their full potential.