Starting in fall 2010, Quebec parents will know if their newborn babies have healthy ears before they leave the hospital.

Health Minister Yves Bolduc announced Thursday that all hospitals in Quebec will start routinely performing a simple test, done just hours after birth, to find out if the baby is hearing-impaired.

Dr. Hema Patel, a pediatrician at the Montreal Children's Hospital and mother of a deaf boy, has been lobbying the government for years to have this test done in Quebec hospitals.

"The difference in an early diagnosis — very close to birth — and a late diagnosis is the difference between black and white. The issue is really brain development. And the longer that the brain doesn't hear, the longer that those sections of the brain will do something else," Patel said.

Either a doctor, a nurse or a technician will be able to carry out the test. An instrument similar to a thermometer is placed in the child's ear for a few seconds to check sound waves.

Bolduc said the province would invest $5 million a year to make sure testing and follow-up care is available.

Source: Graphic Online - http://tinyurl.com/l8248e