Baby boy diagnosed with hearing loss gets first hearing aids at University Hospital
SAN ANTONIO - A local hospital is helping the smallest patients get introduced to the sounds of the world.
Baby Jeremiah who is four-months old has been fitted with hearing aids after University Hospital doctors diagnosed him with hearing loss in the neonatal intensive care unit.
Jeremiah was a super preemie, born at just 28-weeks, with a respiratory virus that likely contributed to the hearing loss.
"The earlier you catch it, then the earlier that a child is treated with amplification or hearing aids, then the less likely they're going to fall behind in there, in their development," said Level 2 audiologist, Jennifer Frank.
Insurance providers don't usually cover the cost of hearing aids until babies are discharged from the NICU.
That's why University Hospital has created a NICU Hearing Aid Loaner Bank, to help provide funding to fit babies with the devices.
