Published: Oct. 17, 2006 Updated: Apr. 20, 2010 Two-and-a-half-
year-old Nina was bright-eyed and bouncy, full of laughter and
hugs -- when you could get her attention. She often seemed to be
ignoring her parents when they spoke to her, and when she did
respond, many of her words were slurred. Concerned, her parents
arranged for a hearing test -- and learned that Nina had
moderate hearing loss in both ears. Outfitted with a hearing
aid, and provided with speech therapy, she is just beginning to
regain some of the ground she lost during the first years of
life when important language skills are being learned. "Hearing
impairment is the largest congenital disability, affecting about
six out of every 1,000 infants," says Duke pediatric audiologist
Ann Mabie. "For a very long time, people thought you couldn't
test infants' hearing, and would just wait until children were
two or three years old. But by the time you wait for children
not to talk, a window of opportunity has shut." In fact, those
tiny, shell-like ear