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Read about how newborn hearing screening is carried out, what is screened for, and when you can expect to get the results.

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Find newborn hearing screening services - NHS

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Find newborn hearing screening services near you on the NHS website.

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Your baby's visit to the audiology clinic

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Your baby's visit to the audiology clinic

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Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

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Your baby's hearing test at Children's Audiology (subtitled)

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What's your role in the testing process?

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What's your role in the testing process?

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We have published a new animation to support parents whose babies are referred for audiological testing after NHS newborn hearing screening tests.

Early identification and management of deafness gives babies a better chance of developing language, speech, communication and social skills. If a deafness is diagnosed, timely management and support can be offered.

The animation, embedded in the Your baby's visit to the audiology clinic digital information on GOV.UK, prepares parents for what they can expect at an audiology appointment. It is also available with subtitles and other languages, including British Sign Language (BSL).

The animation continues the journey of Katie and baby Thomas from the NHS Newborn Hearing Screening Programme (NHSP) specific animation.

Why audiology attendance is so important

Newborn hearing screeners play a vital role in supporting audiological appointment attendance. An important element of this role is explaining the screening process and potential screen outcomes and not overly reassuring parents. About 1 in 15 babies tested at audiology clinics have a permanent hearing loss in one or both ears, so it is essential that parents understand that their baby could have a deafness.

The newborn hearing screen is highly effective in identifying babies who need further testing in audiology. Each week in England:

more than 11,000 babies are screened

about 270 are referred to audiology

approximately 21 babies are diagnosed with a permanent childhood deafness

Audiology assessments are time critical because they can be difficult to perform on older babies. If a deafness is identified then other tests may be required to find the possible cause. These tests need to be performed within the first few weeks of birth. However, only about 90% (9 in 10) of babies referred for further tests attend their audiology appointment within 4 weeks of screen completion.

Being able to direct parents to this new animation will help screeners to reinforce the importance of early attendance at audiology appointments.

How we developed the animation

We actively listened to parents to get their views and gathered comments from experts in screening and audiology to make sure the animation is of high quality and meets the needs of users.

This collaborative process included 2 online focus groups and has resulted in an excellent resource. One parent commented that it is "clear, simple, colourful, inclusive and to the point".

The development process involved:

senior paediatric audiological experts

parents

the National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS)

members of the PHE national NHSP programme team and the information and education for public and professional (IEPP) team

a highly experienced production company with a strong background in healthcare

The parent focus group consisted of 6 parents, 4 of whom had babies referred from the screen to audiology for further tests, including one parent who had a close family history of deafness. All 4 babies were found to have satisfactory hearing and were discharged from audiology.

The babies of the other 2 parents had been discharged from the newborn hearing screen.

Positive feedback

We asked focus group participants to rate different aspects of the animation on a scale of 1 (very poor) to 10 (excellent). Experts and parents both scored it very highly in terms of the visuals, messages and support for parents to attend the appointment.

Comments from the parents included:

Strikes the right chord.

Gives what you need to know.

Easy to understand.

Enjoyed it - clear, simple, colourful, inclusive and to the point.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this process. The focus group was an excellent way to listen to parents' experiences of screening and audiology assessments. We were able to learn from them and pass on specific helpful feedback to the local services involved.

PHE Screening blog

The PHE Screening blog provides up to date news from all NHS screening programmes. You can register to receive updates direct to your inbox, so there's no need to keep checking for new blogs. If you have any questions about this blog article, or about population screening in England, please contact the PHE screening helpdesk.

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New animation helps parents understand their role in audiology assessment process

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We have published a new animation to support parents whose babies are referred for audiological testing after NHS newborn hearing screening tests. Early identification and management of deafness gives babies a better chance of developing language, speech, communication and social skills. If a deafness is diagnosed, timely management and support can be offered.

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My child is going for a Hearing Test (Visual Reinforced Audiometry) in hospital

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The University of Southampton Auditory Implant Service (USAIS) was established in 1990 to help severely to profoundly deaf adults and children. Since the programme began at this centre the surgeons have implanted over 2,000 auditory implant devices.

Detailed information about opening hours and contact details are available on the contact us page

The service is closed weekends and bank holidays and the service is adjusted during University Closure Days which occur around Christmas and Easter.

If you have a medical emergency with a Cochlear Implant or Bone Conduction Hearing/Middle Ear Implant over the weekend, or at any other time when we are not open, please call 111 in the first instance before visiting A&E. If you do visit A&E, ask to see the on-call ENT doctor.

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Welcome to AIS - Auditory Implant Service

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The University of Southampton Auditory Implant Service (USAIS) was established in 1990 to help severely to profoundly deaf adults and children. Since the programme began at this centre the surgeons have implanted over 2,000 auditory implant devices. Detailed information about opening hours and contact details are available on the contact us page The service is closed weekends and bank holidays ...

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People who may be suitable for a cochlear implant can be referred into our service by their Audiologist, ENT consultant or GP. They will then have an assessment carried out by a multi-disciplinary team at the University of Southampton Auditory Implant Service. The team is made up of a range of professionals including ENT Consultants, Audiologists, Hearing Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists, Teachers of the Deaf, Educational Audiologists, and Psychologists.

The assessment process involves several appointments and is tailored to the individual's needs. The process allows us to find out information about the patient and their hearing loss to enable us to assess whether they may be suitable for a cochlear implant. It is also an opportunity for the patient to get to know our service and find out all they need to know about cochlear implants. As part of the assessment process, patients have the opportunity to meet other people who have cochlear implants and find out about their experiences.

To be a candidate for a cochlear implant, patients must meet the criteria set out in the national NICE guidance. At the end of the assessment process the team will get together to discuss whether the candidate is likely to benefit from a cochlear implant(s). If the patient is likely to benefit and meets the NICE guidelines, then funding will be routinely given by NHS England. Following this the patient will be added to the waiting list for surgery.
NICE TAG 566 Guidelines
If the patient is not in criteria for NHS funding, but can still benefit from a cochlear implant, then they can access our Self-funded cochlear implant pathway if they wish to

Self-funded cochlear implant pathway.

Click on the links below to get an idea of the assessment pathway for adults as well as children and young people.

More useful links:

Professionals: For more information about referring a patient for a cochlear implant click here for the USAIS Information for Referrers page

Service delivery for Children and Young People - click here for the USAIS Service after Implantation page

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Assessments for a Cochlear Implant - Auditory Implant Service

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People who may be suitable for a cochlear implant can be referred into our service by their Audiologist, ENT consultant or GP. They will then have an assessment carried out by a multi-disciplinary team at the University of Southampton Auditory Implant Service.

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Physical and sensory support (PSS) - Surrey County Council

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We use our expertise to help children and young people with physical, hearing, vision or communication impairments.

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Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

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We care for people with hearing loss and are the largest hearing implant centre in London and the south east of England.

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Cochlear implant information for parents and visitors

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Clinical specialty information from the Cochlear Implant department at Great Ormond Street Hospital

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St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

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Auditory Implant Service - St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

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A cochlear implant is a small, complex electronic device that can help to provide a sense of sound. We offer cochlear implants for both adults and children with profound sensorineural hearing loss. Continue reading →

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University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

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Auditory implants : University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

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The cochlear implant programme was founded in 1982, and we were the first clinical cochlear implant programme in the UK. The team has been involved with the successful implantation of more than 2,000 patients, both adults and children, from all over the UK.

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How hearing aids work | Hearing aids and implants

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Find out how behind-the-ear hearing aids work and some common features you may find on them.

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Bone conduction hearing devices | Hearing implants

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If you are considering getting a bone conducting hearing aid for your child, you can get information on some of the advantages and disadvantages of BCHIs or bone conducting hearing implants can be an option for some deaf children with: permanent conductive deafness, microtia, and deafness in one ear

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Specialist Speech and Language Therapist - Surrey County Council

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Discover a new job opportunity with Surrey County Council.

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Who might you meet from NHSP screeners, to audiology teams to education professionals.

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Professionals who support in England | New to hearing loss

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Learn about the range of professionals and services in England who can support you and your child with their hearing loss.

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Confirmed mild hearing loss in babies: description in brief

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Healthcare professionals can use this leaflet to answer parents’ typical questions on mild hearing loss in babies.

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Document available in Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu and English.

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Confirmed hearing loss in babies: description in brief

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Healthcare professionals can use this leaflet to answer parents’ common questions on hearing loss in babies: available in Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu.

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Strategies to support the development of speech sounds