Cape Town Hospital Now Screens All Newborns for Hearing Loss

A Cape Town hospital is giving thousands of babies a critical head start by catching hearing problems in their first days of life.

Tygerberg Hospital expanded its screening program in 2025 to test all newborns for hearing loss, not just high-risk babies. It's now one of the few public hospitals in South Africa offering this life-changing service as routine care.

The timing matters more than most parents realize. Babies start hearing months before birth, and their brains are wired to build communication pathways easily until about age three. After that window closes, learning to process sound becomes much harder.

"A very young brain has very high plasticity, meaning it can learn, change and build neural connections easily," says Sarah Lange, head of audiology at the Carel du Toit Centre. The center specializes in teaching spoken language to children with hearing impairments.

More than 6,100 babies are born with or develop hearing loss each year in South Africa. Globally, 34 million children live with hearing loss. Most South African children aren't diagnosed until after those crucial early learning years have already passed.

The screening takes just minutes using a painless test called Automated Auditory Brainstem Response. Technicians place a headphone and electrode on the baby's ear and forehead, play a sound, and measure how the brain responds.

Tygerberg's program launched in 2016 for high-risk babies only, then expanded to universal screening in 2025. By December 2025, they had screened 31,500 babies using four machines.

Dr. Jessica McGuire runs a similar program at Mowbray Maternity Hospital through her nonprofit Hear-Hope. Her team screens 90% of the 9,000 to 10,000 babies born there each year.

The Ripple Effect

Early detection transforms outcomes for entire families. The vast majority of hearing-impaired children are born to parents who can hear, making early intervention essential for building those first precious connections between parent and child.

When babies get help before age three, they can develop communication skills on par with their hearing peers. They can connect with family, make friends, and fully participate in school and life.

The partnership between Tygerberg Hospital and the Carel du Toit Centre shows what's possible when healthcare systems prioritize prevention. What started as screening only high-risk newborns grew into comprehensive care for every baby born at the hospital.

Cape Town's success proves that universal newborn hearing screening works in South Africa's public healthcare system, lighting a path forward for hospitals nationwide.