Deaf Awareness Month: And Early Detection in Newborns

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Published Date:September 8, 2026

By Ali Weatherford

There are thriving and proud Deaf communities around the world. While Deafness is not something that we wish or hope for ourselves or for our children, it also isn’t always experienced as a tragic loss or disability. Espcecially when you can detect it early and take action quickly, you might have more options.

Hard of Hearing or Deaf?

There is a difference. Hearing loss is a general term encompassing the entire range from mild to total hearing loss. Hard of hearing means that a person experiences hearing loss in the mild to severe range. They are not able to hear as well as someone with normal hearing. “Normal” is defined as 20 decibels. That means you can hear a ticking watch or whispering from a few feet away. Someone who is hard of hearing can usually communicate using spoken language and can benefit from using hearing aids and other assistive devices or captioning.

Deafness means profound hearing loss. A person with deafness can hear nothing or almost nothing. They might benefit from a cochlear implant, and many use sign language to communicate.

Early Detection

There are many benefits to discovering hearing loss early. In the United States, newborns get a hearing screening done within a couple of days of being born. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends doing additional screenings throughout childhood, even into the teen years. The early screening for newborns is important because it can detect issues that might not be obvious to caregivers. A baby might startle or turn toward certain sounds, indicating that they can hear things. Just because a baby can hear sounds, does not mean they hear well enough to distinguish certain sounds, especially in spoken language. Remember that there is a range in hearing loss from mild to profound. Even moderate hearing loss can mean that a child will have difficulty learning and understanding speech. A little help from a hearing aid might be all a baby needs to clearly hear and learn to recognize the sounds that are important for speech.

There are other reasons that hearing screenings are important even later. A child experiencing even mild or moderate hearing loss can experience consequences.

Depending on the environment, a child can have more or less difficulty distinguishing sounds. If there are other noises in the background, such as in school, it might be more difficult to pick up what the teacher is saying.
Children might develop speech impediments as a result of not being able to hear certain sounds clearly.
They might develop insecurities about their abilities or a speech impediment.
An insecure child may struggle to make friends or maintain relationships with family members.
An insecure child may have behavioral problems in and out of school.

Types of Hearing Tests

A hearing screening is very basic and only takes a few minutes. It’s just a test to measure whether a person can hear. You either pass or fail. This can be helpful, but it can also lead to incorrect assumptions about a person’s abilities. If your child fails a hearing screening, they should be referred for more in-depth tests. Even if your child passes, you might continue to suspect that they have issues with hearing. It’s possible to pass a hearing screening, but still have hearing impairment. This is one of those situations where you can listen to your intuition and request further testing.

A more thorough hearing evaluation or test assesses the entire auditory system. You can find out if your child has problems hearing certain tones, or in specific situations. These assessments are performed by an audiologist. They will do a physical examination of the ear, possibly including an assessment of fluid buildup or eardrum movement. The specialist may test each ear for hearing using a variety of different tones and pitches, do speech testing instead of just sound testing, or test for hearing of speech in a quiet environment, and a louder environment.

Living with Hearing Loss

Depending on the severity and at what point in life a person experiences hearing loss, they or their families may choose certain paths. More than half of hearing loss cases are inherited, so a person born to Deaf parents or one Deaf parent, may also be Deaf. Especially when both parents are Deaf, it can be an easier transition. Sign language may be the communication method of choice, and the parents may be very proficient at navigating the world with hearing loss and therefore can help their children do the same.

Deaf with a capital D refers to a culture of individuals with hearing loss. It describes the richness of communication including the use of signed languages, and is a point of pride. Deafness can be viewed as a cultural identity rather than a medical condition. There are thriving communities of people experiencing hearing loss. In fact, many people don’t like to be considered to have a “disability” or “impairment”. The word deaf (with a lower case d) just describes a lack of hearing.

On the other hand, a person may experience hearing loss or deafness later in life. They may not have any familiarity with Deaf culture or the Deaf community, and the hearing loss may be felt as an impairment or a disability. Their communication method of spoken language may not be accessible to them anymore, and they feel lost or at a disadvantage. These people might be able to benefit from hearing aids or a combination of hearing aids and lip reading so they can continue to communicate using spoken language. They may use modern technology to assist in communication. Or they may want to learn sign language and find family members or other people with hearing loss to communicate with that way.

Key Takeaways

Early detection of hearing loss can mean more options for a child. Depending on the severity of the hearing loss, and whether the hearing loss is static (will stay the same) or progressive (will get worse), parents can decide, or help a child decide, on a path that will provide them with healthy learning environments and plenty of options for communication.