More than 24,000 children are born with hearing loss in the United States each year. Boys Town National Research Hospital is a national leader in the diagnosis and treatment of children with moderate to profound hearing loss.

Information on Hearing Loss

Boys Town National Research Hospital provides parents with a variety of helpful information related to hearing loss in children.

Newborn Hearing Screening
Perhaps your baby's hearing was screened soon after birth at the hospital. You may be wondering about the tests and what the results mean for your family. This section answers several questions family members often ask about hearing screening.

Middle Ear Problems and Hearing Loss
Middle ear dysfunction can cause hearing loss and affect speech and language development or school performance. Learn more about what you can do if your child has middle ear dysfunction and/or conductive hearing loss.

Hearing Testing and Children
Some babies are born with medical conditions that are associated with hearing loss. Some babies develop medical complications which increase their chance of developing hearing loss. Early detection of hearing loss is very important to a child's development.

Identifying Hearing Loss in Children: Basic Evaluations
When parents notice a problem with their child's hearing, their child may need to have a hearing test and other evaluations. Click on the link above to read more about these tests, along with a discussion of why the test information is important to understanding and managing a child's hearing loss.

Understanding Hearing Loss: Diagnosis and Evaluation
When a hearing loss is first diagnosed, the test results may seem confusing. For this reason we've provided material to answer some of the most commonly asked questions about hearing loss and hearing tests.

Unilateral Hearing Loss
A unilateral hearing loss affects only one ear. The degree of loss can range from mild to total hearing loss. If the loss is mild, it is still possible to hear some sounds, but if the hearing loss is total, even very loud sounds will not be heard in that ear.

Genetics and Deafness
Learn more about the basic concepts of genetics and deafness, genetic syndromes, and some individual perspectives on hearing loss.