Infant Hearing Program • Back to Growing Up Healthy Infant hearing screening is available to all children born in Ontario. Parents of newborns will be offered hearing testing for their baby in the hospital before being discharged home. Screening is quick, simple and safe The equipment used to screen your baby's hearing is completely safe and reliable. He or she will probably sleep comfortably through the whole experience. The screening is performed by placing a small earphone in the baby's ear, and then soft sounds are played through it. From this, the ear's response is measured and recorded. This process takes about five minutes.  It is important to monitor your baby's hearing The first few years of life are the most important for developing language skills. Delayed language development can lead to behavioural and emotional problems and later problems with learning in school. For age related checklists, look here: http://language-express.ca/agesstages/3months.htm.  Certain infants may be designated 'high risk' for developing hearing loss because of family history, physical anomalies, infections or other conditions present at birth. Babies spending time in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit represent half of the children at risk. They will be screened before leaving the NICU, and those with a 'refer' result will be referred directly to the Audiologist for a complete Assessment.  For more information, call the South-eastern Regional Infant Hearing Program at 1-800-267-7875.