Early hearing loss often goes undetected, quietly shaping a child's ability to speak, learn and connect. A quick test at birth could change that trajectory - yet too many of SA's infants are never screened.

A baby can be born healthy, cry strongly, feed well and go home within hours and still leave the health system with a serious condition no one has checked for.

Infant hearing loss is invisible in the first months of life, but its effects are not. When it is identified late, the consequences show up later in delayed language, school-readiness gaps, family stress and avoidable inequalities. Left unaddressed, hearing loss affects speech, language, cognitive and social development, and can lead to poorer educational outcomes and future job opportunities, often with lifelong disadvantage.

But the opposite is also true. When hearing loss is identified early and children are linked to the right interventions -- including hearing aids, cochlear implants and family centred support services -- many can develop language and learning outcomes in line with their hearing peers. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has been clear on this, and it is one of the reasons early identification is such a priority in child hearing care.

That is why early hearing detection and intervention matters. It is not a niche audiology service for a small group of children. It is a population-wide early childhood intervention.

This year's World Hearing Day theme,...