Doctor says thousands of babies have missed crucial hearing screening during pandemic

A pediatrician and first-time father says the COVID-19 pandemic means thousands of babies across Ontario have missed a crucialform ofscreeningto identifynewborns at risk forhearing loss.

Dr. Hasan Merali isan assistant professor at McMasterUniversity and father to a six-week-old girl named Arya.

"I'm worried about my daughter not being screened, but more importantly about all the other families that might not even know that this was supposed to happen," he said.

"This is something that's going to be completely missed for them which could lead to severe speech and language delays."

The Infant Hearing Program (IHP) is funded by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services andprovides screening for all newborns in the province to identify babies withpermanent hearing loss and those at risk of developing it.

It includes two forms of screening:

• A blood spot test for rare conditions and common genetic factors that cause hearing loss.
• Physiological screening, which uses specialized equipment to testresponse to soft sounds played in a baby's ear.

The ministry says blood spot screening has continued amid COVID-19, but acknowledged in a statement to CBC News that because of the pandemic most of its 12 IHP leadagencies suspended universal newborn hearing screening.

Longer delay means longer backlog

That statement echoes amessageMeralireceived saying physiological screening hasbeen suspended in "many regions."

That message, which includesthe signatures of bothminister Todd Smith and Jill Dunlop, associate minister of children and women's issues, was sent to the doctor on July 24 in response to a letter he sent sharing his fears.

In his letter,the doctor notedthat every area of the province hadmoved to Stage 2 of Ontario's reopening plan, meaning people can get haircuts or drink on patios, but there still seems to be no plan to fully bring back thescreening.

"I am at a loss to understand why," he writes.

"To date, thousands of babies have missed their newborn screening, with dozens to hundreds more each day. The longer the limited services continue, the longer the backlog of newborns to be screened will be and many babies, unfortunately, will not even get screening."

Merali's daughter is among the thousands of newborns who haven't been able to be tested,something that would typically happen in the hospital before discharge.

He's contactedtesting facilities in Halton, Hamilton and Toronto, but said only limited screening is takingplace for high-risk infants.

In the meantime, the window for screening is quickly closing.

The ministry says physiological screening produces valid results for babies up to two months old, whichleaves just a few weeks for Arya to undergo testing.

The ministry'swebsite states that two out of every 1,000 babies have hearing loss at birth and two more develop it by age five.

The children may hear some sounds, but miss others, making it harder to learn speech and language, it explains.

"This can lead to behavioural and emotional challenges," reads the site."It is important to detect hearing loss as early as possible."

Timeline to bring back screening unclear

In a statement to CBC News, a spokesperson wrote that the ministry has recommended itsagenciesprioritize cases for babies withCongenital Cytomegalovirus andmeningitisas well as urgent audiology services for those who screen positive through the blood spot test for genetic risk factors for permanent hearing loss.

Genevive Oger added that the ministry is encouraging the agencies to communicate directly with families that haven't been offered physiological hearing screening to let them know the blood spot test had been carried out,to "encourage them to monitor their child's early development" and to speak with doctors if concerns arise.

However,thatapproach appears in contrast to the information on its own site which states it's"not possible" for parents or even most doctors to accurately test a baby's hearing as the screening requires specific training and equipment.

The ministry says as the province continues to reopen its planning for a gradual resumption of in-person services, including hearing screening that was reduced or suspended, but doesn't provide any specifics for when it will be widely available.

It's a general response the doctor said he feels doesn't addresses the actual issue, adding the longer it takes the more likely it is babies with hearing loss will be kept from support.

"It is unfortunate that there is no definitive time-frame on when my daughter will be able to be screened," Merali said.