Professor Melissa Wake, CCCH Associate Director, spoke to the ABC’s Dr Norman Swan about the success of universal newborn hearing screening.

The Victorian Infant Hearing Screening Program (VIHSP) screens the hearing of newborn babies in their first weeks of life. The program started screening in Victoria in 2005 and now operates in 76 hospitals in Victoria, achieving statewide coverage in 2012.

In the podcast, Professor Wake explained that while early detection has been a huge step forward for children’s outcomes, there’s also an opportunity to do more for children with an identified hearing loss.

“Now it’s very clear from following up children born in the era of universal newborn hearing screening that there is more to be done.

“It’s made a substantial difference, but still as these children go into schools, still their language and related levels are lower than they should be when we look at their cognitive levels,” Professor Wake said.

Listen to the full podcast here

Learn more about the Victorian Infant Hearing Screening Program

Learn more about Professor Melissa Wake.