Ontario Infant Hearing Program

The first months and years of a baby's life are critical for developing language. Most children can hear right from birth. They learn to talk by imitating the sounds around them and the voices of their parents and caregivers. But that's not true for every child.

Every year in Ontario, nearly four in 1,000 babies are born deaf or hard of hearing. More lose their hearing later as they grow. Many of these children may need to learn speech and language differently, so it's important to detect hearing loss as early as possible.

The Infant Hearing Program offers hearing screening to all newborn children either in the hospital or in the community. Follow up-supports and services are available for babies who are identified with permanent hearing loss.

It is very important to find out if your baby has hearing loss. Undetected hearing loss can cause delays in your baby's speech development. This can lead to behavioural and emotional problems and later on, to problems in school. The sooner hearing loss is identified, the better. There are many services available to help children with hearing loss. Finding out early means that your child can get the help they need right away. This gives them the same chance to develop language skills as hearing children.

Thames Valley Children's Centre administers the Infant Hearing Program for the Southwest region. The Infant Hearing Program is available throughout the province of Ontario and is funded by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services.