In the hours and days after your baby arrives, it might seem like everyone wants to poke, prod and screen them for something. In that mix is usually a newborn hearing test, also known as a hearing screening test. The test alerts parents to the possibility of hearing loss.
For hospital-born babies, the test normally takes place within a day or two of being born. For babies born at home or with a midwife, it?s suggested they go for a newborn screening test before they are a month old. In the province of Ontario, for example, ?Babies born by vaginal birth are screened at a minimum of 15 hours after birth and 22 hours after a C-section,? says infant hearing screener Kim Fraser. Waiting gives the baby time to shake out some of the mucus or fluid that can be in the ear canal from birth. In the hospital, a screener, as opposed to a doctor or a nurse, will perform the test right in front of you, usually right in your hospital room. Baby needs to be completely quiet for the test?asleep is ideal. So if your newborn is feeding or fussing, the screener will probably come back later.
The test takes about five minutes, and isn’t invasive or painful. The tip of a tiny rubber probe shaped like a letter ?T? will be placed into your sleeping baby?s ear for just a few seconds. The probe produces a soft sound and a machine records reactionary sound waves that bounce back.

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