Hearing loss in children often goes undetected until 3 years of age, when caregivers become concerned about a child's lack of speech. Language development is then severely compromised. Infant hearing screening programs which offer free hearing tests to all babies receiving their immunizations at primary healthcare clinics in the Ficksburg/Meqheleng area in South Africa are the only way of diagnosing children with hearing loss before they are 4 months old, thus ensuring a much brighter future!
At the moment there are about an estimated 432 children with hearing loss between 0 - 14 years of age living in the Setsoto Municipality in the Eastern Free State in South Africa. Of these children, only 10 have been diagnosed with hearing loss so far. The rest are probably undiagnosed and suffering to deal with communication, education and socio-emotional issues. The only way of diagnosing children early enough for optimal intervention is by means of universal infant hearing screening programs.
By identifying children with hearing loss before 4 months of age, we can enroll them in age- and culture-appropriate intervention so that they can develop language (either spoken or signed) optimally. By doing this we can ensure that they can be educated locally, and that they will be afforded the same opportunities for optimal development like their normal-hearing peers.
Late-identified deaf children cost the society about $1 million across lifespan to support them. An early-identified deaf child will need less specialized education, and will be competitive in the job market as an adult, thus reducing the financial burden on society as a whole.
