Nambour Hospital may have made incorrect diagnosis | National News

2nd December 2008

NEWBORN babies tested for hearing loss at Nambour Hospital between March last year and this year may have not been correctly diagnosed after problems with the calibration of a screening machine.

But Queensland Health says the likelihood of problems among the more than 2200 babies tested was less than 1 per cent.

The cables screening the right ear may not have been set at the correct decibel level during testing.

Sunshine Coast-Wide Bay District CEO Kevin Hegarty said the risk would be 0.00044 per cent.

“That may be a very low risk, but that's not a chance we are about to take,” Mr Hegarty said.

“Of the 2267 babies screened, the hearing screen machine detected two babies with permanent hearing loss, which is about the number of babies with permanent childhood hearing loss we would expect to find in a population of this size.

“Every parent of a child screened between March 2007 and March 2008 will be offered a hearing screen for their child.”

Parents will receive letters inviting them to contact Queensland Hearing Loss Family Support Service on (toll free) 1800 352 075 if they have any concerns or wish to make an appointment for a hearing screen.

Because a child's hearing can change over time, parents will also be given information on hearing milestones to help determine their child's hearing.

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