[Early diagnosis and therapy of hearing damage in children in the first months of life].

Recent research on acoustical deprivation shows that anatomical and functional maturation of the hearing pathways is dependent on the reception and perception of specific stimuli. In cases of dysfunction of the peripheral hearing organ, a secondary dysfunction of perception and apperception of acoustical signals develops. The experiences of paedagogues for hard hearing children confirm that the results of their special education are the better the earlier they begin. Therefore, children with congenital deafness must be evaluated by newborn screening to have a chance of initiation of therapy as early as possible, that is, within the first few months of life.