Who should be screened and why?
Early childhood development can be negatively affected by poor eyesight or poor hearing. Oftentimes, vision and hearing problems are not easily detected by casual observation. Young children often do not complain about not being able to see or hear, because they do not know they should be seeing or hearing any other way. Early detection of a potential problem is crucial and that is why a thorough screening is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Screenings help detect if a potential vision or hearing issue exists, however, it does not take the place of a complete eye and ear exam and parents/guardians are encouraged to follow the required periodic wellness visits for their child.
How is vision and hearing screening done?
Using fun and easy games specifically designed for preschool children, screeners from the Sight & Hearing Association will complete the following five tests:
Visual inspection of the eyes and ears (12 mos., toddlers and preschoolers): Checks eyes and ears for healthy appearance
Visual acuity or clearness of vision (preschoolers): Using age appropriate eye charts and matching games we measure how well each eye sees
Fixate and Follow (12 mos. and toddlers): Using an engaging toy to see if the child can fixate on and follow a moving toy.
Cross-cover and Hirschberg light dot test (all ages): Verifies that the eyes are straight and work together
Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) or Pure Tone Audiometry (OAE all ages, pure tone for preschoolers): Clinic quality equipment is used to measure how well your child receives sounds most important for speech development and communication skills.
Tympanometry (preschoolers): Clinic quality equipment measures how the eardrum moves. It checks for problems such as fluid behind the eardrum.
Who does the screening?
Founded in 1939, the Sight & Hearing Association (SHA) is a nonprofit organization that conducts vision and hearing screenings throughout Minnesota. Specially trained vision and hearing health professionals, screen over 10,000 children each year. Over 1.5 million children have been screened onsite at their school settings.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are some of the warning signs to look for in my child regarding vision? Your child is squinting to see, leans forward to be close to objects, clumsy when reaching, complains of eye aches or pains or says their vision is blurred. Often there are no warning signs, especially in conditions such as amblyopia. Amblyopia, otherwise known as “lazy eye,” is a condition where one eye develops good vision while the other does not. A related condition is strabismus, which is a misaligned or turned eye.
What are some of the warning signs regarding hearing? Your child tilts his/her head to one side when someone is speaking, favors one ear, asks you to repeat what you have said or asks “what?” or ‘huh” often, talks louder or complains of ear aches and pains.
Will any hearing results be affected if my child has tubes? Yes. The tympanometer will show abnormal results for that test only. Tubes do not affect the pure tone audiometer or OAE hearing test.
If my child needs glasses, will they weaken the eyes? No. This is a common myth. Glasses will not change the eyes to make them weaker. Eyesight may change as the eyes continue to develop, but it is not a result of the current prescription.
What is the next step if my child does not pass the screening? If your child does not pass, make an appointment with your health care professional, who can refer you to a specialist, if necessary. If your child did not pass the hearing test, it could mean a potential hearing loss, an ear infection, wax build-up or something in the ear canal. If your child did not pass the vision test, it could mean an eye condition requiring follow-up care, eyeglasses, or even allergies.
What sort of eye and ear specialists are there for my son or daughter? Otolaryngologists (ENTs), pediatric otolaryngologists and audiologists specialize in hearing issues. Ophthalmologists, pediatric ophthalmologists, optometrists and opticians specialize in vision issues.
Less than 30% of children entering school have received appropriate vision and hearing screening. One out of 10 students will need glasses by the time they enter 1st grade and by the time a child enters 7th grade, four out of 10 will have a vision and/or hearing impairment affecting academic performance. Vision and/or hearing problems left untreated will affect a child’s ability to achieve academic excellence, develop socially, emotionally and connect with peers and educators. The Sight & Hearing Association (SHA) along with the Minnesota Department of Health, recommend screening children in kindergarten, 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th and 10th grades. In addition, screenings should be conducted whenever there are parent or teacher concerns.
Founded in 1939, SHA is a nonprofit health organization dedicated to enabling lifetime learning by identifying preventable loss of vision and hearing in children. The National Institutes of Health recognize SHA as a leading resource on proper vision and hearing screening techniques for children. Specially trained health staff will provide professional vision and hearing screenings at your school. Please contact SHA for more information, 651-645-2546, ext. 11.
Since 2002, SHA has provided free eye exams and glasses to thousands of children in need. Our Vision Voucher Project for Kids© allows SHA to provide much-needed financial resources in the form of a “voucher” to low-income/uninsured or underinsured children that our screeners have identified as having a vision health concern. With the support of dozens of optometrists in the greater metro area, we are able to provide hassle-free eye exams and glasses to eligible children who we have screened through our early childhood and school-age screening programs. Only children attending programs where we screen are eligible. If you represent a child care center or school and are interested in having our program screen your children, please contact us at 651-645-2546, ext. 11.
Approximately one in five Minnesotans (20%) is deaf or hard of hearing – more than 1.1 million people. Every year, about 200 babies are born deaf or hard of hearing. By age 65, one in three people has hearing problems and by 75, half of the population is deaf or hard of hearing. Studies have linked untreated hearing loss to stress, anger, depression, fatigue, social withdrawal, reduced job performance and impaired memory.
Donate Your Hearing Aids
Your tax-deductible donation will help support the Hearing Aid Bank of Minnesota (HAB-MN) a used hearing aid collection program of the Sight & Hearing Association (SHA), a Minnesota-based nonprofit 501(c)(3) that was founded in 1939 and is dedicated to preventing the needless loss of vision and hearing in all Minnesotans. HAB-MN collects donations of used hearing aids and the salvaged value helps further the hearing loss prevention programs of SHA, by supporting our mobile hearing screening program for children and adults or SHA’s hearing conservation education and awareness projects.
Thank you for considering a donation of your used hearing aids to HAB-MN.
AT THIS TIME WE ARE ONLY ACCEPTING USED HEARING AIDS.
Please DO NOT mail any accessories (batteries, chargers, assistive TV products, microphones, remote controls, cleaning products, cords, receivers, etc.), as we are unable to distribute them, at this time.
We gladly accept your used hearing aids only and ask that you carefully package them in a padded envelope or box and mail to:
Hearing Aid Bank of Minnesota
c/o Sight & Hearing Association
PO Box 40009
Saint Paul, MN 55104
If you would like an acknowledgment of your donation for tax purposes, please include your name and address inside the package or box you are mailing to us.
Thank you for supporting the Hearing Aid Bank of Minnesota!
Vision and hearing are important components of our overall health and well-being. Just like weight loss, smoking cessation and other wellness programs provided by community centers and corporate wellness programs, people need to make sure they’re on the right track in keeping their eyes and ears in good health. People may be affected by vision or hearing problems related to numerous causes. For example:
— Although computer monitors are not overtly harmful to the eyes, safety concerns may result if eyeglass prescriptions are not up-to-date and regular eye exams do not take place. This is especially important in today’s workplace, where 80 percent of all employees work on a personal computer.
— Recreational noise is a leading source of hearing problems. We are bombarded daily by noise. Ironically, dangerous sound levels often come from activities we choose to do.
Sight & Hearing Association’s Community and Corporate Health Screening Program consists of vision and hearing screenings conveniently offered on-site at community gathering places and in corporate offices. Screening professionals from the Sight & Hearing Association will perform the following:
Risk assessment – initial questionnaire about the individual’s vision and hearing history
Visual acuity screen – checks to see how well the individual sees both near and far. Equipment used: Titmus® Vision Screener
Glaucoma screen – checks for early signs of this blinding disease. Equipment used: Humphrey® WelchAllyn FDT Visual Field Instrument
Pure tone audiometry screen – checks to see how well the individual hears various high and low frequencies. Equipment used: Grason Stadler GSI 17 Pure Tone Audiometer
In addition, event participants will receive educational fact sheets regarding vision and hearing health issues, copies of their screening results and, if needed, recommendations to seek further evaluation. For more information, please contact SHA at 651-645-2546, ext. 11.