[Early diagnosis of hearing impairment in children].

Hearing loss can be attributed to a variety of causes. In infants early detection of hearing loss coupled with an appropriate intervention is critical to their speech, language, cognitive and social development. Despite the fact that several methods exist to uncover hearing impairment beyond any doubt, permanent hearing loss in children is still being detected much too late in Germany. This calls for universal new-born hearing screening and adequate audiometric testing in children that their parents either suspect may suffer from a hearing problem or have other risk factors.