ICH Expert Calls For "grand Coalition" On Detecting Hearing Loss In Infants

As keynote speaker at the Newborn Hearing Screening 2006 international conference, just concluded in Como, Italy, Dr Bolajoko Olusanya spoke about the importance of early hearing detection in infants in developing countries.


Dr Olusanya is a research fellow at the UCL Institute of Child Health (ICH) and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust (GOSH) and is currently involved in infant hearing screening programmes around the world.


Over 278 million people worldwide are now disabled by hearing impairment (1). Two thirds of these people live in developing countries with around a quarter having developed the problem in early childhood (2). There are also between 2 and 4 children in every thousand in developed countries that are born with a hearing impairment.(2) The estimates are higher for developing countries.


Children that are born with hearing problems or develop them in early childhood need to have these problems detected as soon as possible. Without early detection these children can develop speech and language problems and can have delayed cognitive development.


Dr Olusanya said: "There are two possible options for screening the hearing of infants. One currently used in many developing countries involves screening newborns in hospitals soon after they are born. The second option is to screen infants in the community, when they attend vaccination clinics. I would hope that the relevant professional organisations around the world can come together and decide on a global way forward so that hearing impairment can be detected early in a child's development and so that we have the best outcomes for children with these problems wherever they are born."






About the GREAT ORMOND STREET HOSPITAL


GOSH is probably the UK's best known children's hospital, specialising in children with rare and complex conditions. It has the widest range of children's specialists of any UK hospital and is the biggest centre for research into childhood illness outside the USA.


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