A clinical audiologist, Dr. Simeon Afolabi, has said that the absence of a sustained newborn hearing screening programme in Nigeria’s public hospitals is contributing to late detection of hearing loss in children, limiting their access to effective treatment.
Dr. Afolabi, who works at BSA Hearing and Speech Centre, Lagos, spoke during a cochlear implant information and support meeting for patients and parents.
He explained that hearing loss in newborns can be detected within hours of birth through a simple test known as otoacoustic emission screening.
According to him, the test, which costs between ₦10,000 and ₦15,000 in private facilities, is not routinely available in government hospitals, despite being standard practice in many countries.
He noted that Lagos state once piloted newborn hearing screening in some hospitals, including Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) and General Hospital, Gbagada, but the programme was not sustained due to staffing and administrative challenges.
“As a result, many children are diagnosed very late, sometimes at seven or eight years, when speech and language development have already been affected,” he said.
Dr. Afolabi explained that cochlear implants are most effective when done early, ideally before the age of six, adding that delayed diagnosis reduces the benefits of the intervention and increases the need for prolonged rehabilitation.
He said children make up about 70 per cent of cochlear implant users in Nigeria, but overall access remains low due to limited awareness, late diagnosis and high cost. A cochlear implant, he said, costs about ₦19–20 million per ear.
He called for the integration of newborn hearing screening into routine postnatal care in public hospitals and urged greater investment in early detection services to improve outcomes for children with hearing loss.