By SVERRE BAKKE
The Enterprise
Congenital hearing loss is one of the most common health conditions affecting newborn babies, according to the Northwest Lions Foundation for Sight and Hearing.
Yet, only 23 percent of newborns in Washington are tested for hearing loss, compared to 4 percent in 2002, the state Department of Health reports.
That could change by the end of next year.
The goal of the Northwest Lions and Department of Health is for, by 2005, newborn hearing screening to be a universal practice in the state's hospitals and birthing centers.
Skyline Hospital in White Salmon currently checks every newborn for hearing loss. After initial trials, hospital nursing staff began voluntarily testing full time in May, according to Chief Executive Officer Mike Madden.
"We started doing (newborn screening for hearing loss) before it became mandated," he explained.
Skyline also is one of seven "pilot hospitals" taking part in a federal project, coordinated by the Department of Health's Genetic Services Section, that will help determine whether such testing becomes mandatory.
Washington is one of 16 states that currently doesn't require newborn screening for hearing loss.
Last year, Skyline, which averages 100-110 births a year, decided to get ahead of the curve and applied to the Northwest Lions for a grant to cover the cost of buying the equipment for conducting the tests.
The hospital went ahead and purchased the equipment in anticipation of receiving the grant, Madden noted, but with a caveat: "We wouldn't have bought it without the Lions' offer to help (pay for it)."
Earlier this month, Skyline finally received payment from the Lions, totaling nearly $8,007.
White Salmon Lions member Erin Anderson said the local club informed Skyline officials just over a year ago about the availability of funding and that led to the grant application to the Northwest Lions.
Member Don Schaack added that White Salmon Lions support the foundation for sight and hearing through local fundraising efforts. "It's a big part of our mission," he noted.
Citing Department of Health statistics, Skyline chief nursing officer/obstetrics supervisor Debra Plemmons said three of every 1,000 newborns have a hearing impairment.
Right now, 20 of the state's 72 hospitals that provide delivery services test newborns for hearing loss, either voluntarily or because they have received assistance from the state or the Northwest Lions.
According to the Department of Health, an infant with an undiagnosed hearing problem is more common than it should be.
In the absence of early intervention provided by newborn testing, hearing loss seldom is detected before a child reaches 18 months of age.
Plemmons said if hearing impairment is discovered by age six months, a child's communication skills can develop within norms with correction and treatment, such as hearing aids and speech therapy.
"Hearing is the key to learning speech and language," she noted. "Early detection and diagnosis through the screening process can make a big difference."
Last year, supporters of mandatory screening -- upset by legislative inaction on the issue -- enlisted the aid of the Northwest Lions to help increase the number of hospitals doing testing. The Lions responded by providing grants of $50,000 a year to help five hospitals a year establish testing programs.
During this year's session of the Legislature, legislation that would have required insurance companies to pay for the hearing tests was introduced with the support of the Washington Speech and Hearing Association.
That legislation failed but the Department of Health is studying the proposal for reintroduction next year.
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