Newborn Hearing Screening

Hearing loss is the most common birth disorder in newborns. A hearing screening should be completed within the first month of life. Children born in Idaho birth centers receive a hearing screening before going home. Children should have their hearing screened any time there is a concern about their language development or communication.

If your baby does not pass the screening, or has an identified risk factor, it is important to take your child to a pediatric audiologist for a diagnostic evaluation. This is the only way to know if your child has a hearing loss. If a hearing loss is identified, early intervention is key.

If your child can’t hear well, they may have problems learning language and communicating. Your child’s first year of life is critical to the development of these skills. Research shows that identifying hearing loss and doing something about it early makes a positive difference in the development of language, communication skills, thinking, reading, and social-emotional function.

Contact Idaho Sound Beginnings if you have questions about newborn hearing screening, diagnostic testing, or early intervention. If you need financial assistance, please contact us prior to having any testing done.

Idaho Sound Beginnings provides training, technical support, and quality assurance to newborn hearing screening programs in every birthing center in the state.

1-3-6 Guidelines

Following the 1-3-6 Guidelines helps to make sure that children with hearing loss have the language and communication skills necessary to learn when they enter school. Idaho Sound Beginnings ensures that: 

•  All infants in Idaho are screened for hearing loss by 1 month of age
• Those that don't pass the screening receive diagnostic testing by 3 months of age
• Those diagnosed with a permanent hearing loss are enrolled in Early Intervention by 6 months of age