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The Ontario Infant Hearing Program (IHP) offers screening for all newborns in hospital and community settings. Hearing screening finds babies who are at high risk for hearing loss and should have more in-depth testing. Children with hearing loss may hear some sounds but miss others, making it harder to learn speech and language. This can lead to behavioural and learning problems. Interventions, supports and services are available for babies with permanent hearing loss to help them achieve the best possible outcomes. For more information, please visit Newborn Screening Ontario.
Universal newborn hearing screening includes physiologic screening, which is done by measuring the ear or brain’s response to soft sounds played in a baby’s ear, and hearing loss risk factor screening, which involves screening the dried blood spot collected by Newborn Screening Ontario, for congenital cytomegalovirus and common variants in some hearing loss genes.