Children with hearing problems: why acting early can make all the difference
EARLY hearing detection and intervention is the gold standard for any practising audiologist and families of infants and children with hearing impairment. KATIJAH KHOZA-SHANGASE, Associate professor, University of the Witwatersrand The goal of early hearing detection and intervention programmes is to identify, diagnose and take action early in a child’s life. The ideal sequence of events is: screening by six weeks of age, diagnosis by four months of age and commencement of intervention by eight months of age. This offers a much better chance of helping children develop and achieve at the same level as their hearing peers. Research has…