In the first month after the birth — usually in the first week — your baby has a hearing test. This measures whether your baby hears well enough to learn to speak. A specially trained screener from the maternity care service does the test, usually during the same visit as the heel prick test.
How it works
Your baby gets a soft earpiece in the ear, connected to a measuring device that tests the hearing. This is done in both ears. The test takes a few minutes and causes no pain. Babies barely notice it and usually sleep right through.
Afterwards the screener tells you the result straight away. For about 95% of babies the test is fine the first time. If the result is not sufficient, the test is repeated after about a week, and if need be a third test with a different device follows about a week later. An insufficient result does not necessarily mean your baby cannot hear well. If the third test is also insufficient in one or both ears, your baby's hearing is examined further at an audiology centre.
The hearing test is not compulsory and there is no charge for it. There is more about it on pns.nl (in Dutch).