Hearing loss and/or hearing impairment occurs when there is a problem with one or more parts of the ear. Someone who has hearing loss may be able to hear some sounds or nothing at all. Approximately 3 in 1,000 children are born with hearing problems, making it the most common birth defect (Morlet 2012). There are ways to determine if your child has a hearing problem at birth, not to prevent your child from having a hearing problem, but to determine whether there is a possibility that your child may have the most common birth defect. Newborn hearing screening focuses on early identification of hearing loss (Listen 2013). In other words, if a newborn were to have a hearing test immediately after birth, there would be less percussion than if the parents waited to have a hearing test later. “The most important reason for early diagnosis is so we can understand how to help the child's language and communication growth,” says Dr. Susan E. Wiley, a developmental pediatrician and adjunct associate professor at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. Studies have shown that important language skills are learned before age 3 because hearing and language learning are closely linked together (Listen 2013). If an infant is not tested before age 3, he or she is susceptible not only to language development, but also to problems communicating with other children his or her age. If your child fails any of the screening tests, it is important that he or she undergo further testing and/or additional treatment immediately. A failed screening means that your baby's results showed signs of a condition during the screening. This doesn't always mean your child has the condition. It may simply mean that further testing is needed (Boyle 2012... middle of paper...) in the period between birth and turning five, much of the language development has not occurred, as it was suppose to . Since my hearing was undiagnosed, I couldn't pick up many sounds that a child with normal hearing could. I had a hard time pronouncing my constants since they are a high frequency tone. In retrospect, all five articles agree that Newborn hearing screenings are important not only for the baby, but also for the parents. Newborn hearing screening is vital to the child's language development, which could help or hinder language use in the future. Parents of this hearing-impaired child must pay for this somehow, and reducing expenses for parents will bring their long-term benefits. All newborn hearing screenings will do is help the hearing-impaired baby and the parents.