New born infant hearing testing is done using BERA test. A hearing testing no later than 1 month of age; A diagnosis no later than 3 months of age; and Entry into early intervention services no later than 6 months of age.
Without these important steps, early identification is not possible and a child may fall behind in communication, reading, or social-emotional development, which could lead to lower educational or employment achievements later in life. Deaf and hard-of-hearing children included in a recent study published in Paediatrics who were diagnosed and enrolled in intervention in accordance with the 1-3-6 guidelines had better vocabularies than those who did not receive these services on time. More than 40% of children included in the study did not receive the diagnostic and intervention services at the recommended intervals to keep their language development on track.