It's very difficult to tell whether or not your baby can hear well enough to develop speech and language at that age. You can look for clues, whether or not your baby follows some of the milestones that I described earlier, but if you have any questions, you should try to have your baby tested as soon as possible. The new law in Missouri covers many aspects of hearing healthcare. It does mandate insurance reimbursement for the hearing test, as well as follow up testing and the first set of hearing aids, if necessary. We have been discussing early intervention for hearing loss.
Intervention starts with becoming aware of a hearing impairment.
Some hearing losses may be medically treatable, others are not. Amplification, or hearing aids, are critical for providing missed input. Increasing auditory input to the child and initiating programs that will aid in speech and language development are all parts of good intervention. Developing a program and implementing it to provide these services is a huge undertaking. There is a task force or advisory committee in Missouri that is still working on some procedural issues regarding implementation of the law.