New born
Hearing Screening
Newborn hearing screening is a safe and simple check to find out if your baby hears well.
Your baby’s hearing
It is important to identify hearing loss as early as possible because babies start learning how to use sound as soon as they are born. Listening in the first months of life prepares babies to speak. These early steps are building blocks for communication.
Monitoring your baby’s hearing
Automated ABR & OAE test is used for screening newborns hearing and should be completed within 1 month after baby is born. Till date Dr Riza have performed hearing screening test for more than 15,000 babies. Ideally new born hearing screening in Dubai can be done just before discharge from hospital or when babies condition is stable and out of life support system if in case admitted in special care unit. It is a simple, painless, and reliable test procedure which within 5-10 minutes determines the current status of babies hearing. If in case baby fails first hearing screening appointment will be given for repeat or diagnostic hearing test.
Our Expertise
Paediatric audiology services
A child’s hearing is critical for speech and language development, communication and literacy. So, it is essential to have an audiology evaluation by an experienced and qualified Audiologist at different stages while your child is growing. Childhood hearing loss can be from birth, acquired during later stage of life and or progressive in nature.
A child’s hearing can be accurately evaluated by an Audiologist with the help of number of tests that determine the degree and type of hearing loss. Hearing assessment for small kids can be challenging in nature , but Medcare Hospital is one among very few hospitals equipped with all major hearing test procedures to rule out hearing loss in small children since its inception in 2007.
Free Field Audiometry:
Sounds from loud speakers are used to assess child's behavioural response under controlled environment or sound proofed room . To make it interesting play Audiometry is performed with small children to get desired results. Benefit from hearing aid (AIDED AUDIOGRAM) is also assessed with free field audio procedures.
Conditioned play audiometry
Conditioned play audiometry will be used for small children between 3 to 5 year old who are not matured enough to give desired response for sounds. Here kids will be trained for desired actions in play mode each time he or she hears the sound. Test may be repeated to check consistency of response before a final diagnosis is made. If desired responses are not obtained, automated hearing test procedures like ABR/ASSR will be advised.
Diagnostic Oto acoustic emissions(OAE)
This test is used to assess the function of inner ear or more specifically normal functioning of Outer hair cells of cochlea which is responsible for hearing. Medcare audiology Dubai is equipped with wide range of diagnostic DPOAE & TEOAE procedures offering a complete view of inner ear functioning. This procedure can be used as a screening test for hearing loss. It is also an essential tool to identify Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder , sudden hearing loss , ototoxicity etc & takes just approx 10 minutes for the complete study.
Auditory Steady State Response Audiometry (ASSR)
ASSR helps to get frequency specific information of hearing loss. It is an objective test procedure with results plotted like an audiogram, for threshold of hearing estimation at 500, 1000, 2000 & 4000 Hz. Procedure is similar to ABR (done while child is sleeping) and is very helpful in determining the pattern & severity of hearing loss in small children and also in fitting hearing aids. Medcare Audiology clinic is first clinic in the region to implement simultaneous modulated sounds to get result from both ears in few minutes.
Auditory Brainstem Response(ABR)
The ABR test is a physiological test used to rule out hearing loss in small children and hard to test patients and is conducted after making child sleep. Procedure takes around 30 to 45 minutes. Click, tone burst , frequency specific Narrow band CHIRP stimulus etc are used to elicit the response at different frequencies which is considered important for speech.This test will help the clinician to record the hearing status without the cooperation of the child thereby improving the efficiency of hearing evaluation.
Hearing Aids for kids
Special Pediatric Hearing aid suitable for childs hearing loss will be prescribed after conducting detailed examination and on confirmation of hearing loss; as early as 3 months of age. Hearing aid analyzer will be used to make sure hearing aid is working as desired and optimal fitting of hearing aids are made. Periodic hearing evaluation will be carried out to check for any deterioration in hearing level and hearing aid programmed accordingly
Central auditory processing disorder assessment (English)
This form of comprehensive testing is used to rule out any problem in central auditory mechanisms ( above our ear in auditory pathway in the higher structures like brain and associated areas) or to evaluate any difficulty in processing auditory signals. It is used for children aged above 5 years and adults. This test is advised for all kids and adults who experience difficulty in understanding speech ( especially when background noise is present ) even though hearing will be normal as assessed by an audiogram.