Procedures and practices
The Universal Newborn Hearing and Early Intervention Programme (UNHSEIP) carries out a two stage regime, using aABR technology with the BERAphone equipment, to screen for hearing loss. This is introduced below.
Automated Auditory Brainstem Response (aABR)
This screen measures the integrity of the inner ear and also the auditory pathway. It therefore is able to measure the brain’s response to sound and identify children with the rare condition of auditory neuropathy where the cochlea is normal but the child has hearing loss.
This screen, usually takes about 10-20 minutes once baby is settled and is also painless for baby. If there is no clear response from the first screen (aABR1) then a second screen (aABR2) is performed. If there is still no clear response then baby will be referred to audiology for diagnostic testing.
Page last updated: 27 August 2019