Hospital to offer newborn hearing screens

EVERY baby born at Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH) will be offered a hearing screening test before they are discharged.

CUMH was, from yesterday, the first hospital in Ireland to implement the national Newborn Hearing Screening Programme which follows a major nationwide review of audiology services.

The test is available free-of-charge for all babies. If staff are not happy with the baby’s response to the test, they will be sent for a full audiological assessment at an Audiology Clinic at CUH shortly after discharge.