Abstract: A method and apparatus for screening the hearing of a young child are disclosed. The method comprises providing, outside the field of view, a series of natural sound stimuli, which are controlled in intensity and spectrum, in various frequency bands and recording, within a time interval after each stimulus, the assessment, given by a researcher, of the response of the child, and testing the response on the basis of pass/fail criteria. The intensity and spectrum of the subsequent sound stimuli in the same or in another frequency band are determined on the basis of the result of each response test. The sound stimuli mentioned are based on processed sound signals derived from the environment. The sound stimuli are presented according to an adaptive protocol program, each response test codetermining the course of the screening. The apparatus includes at least one loudspeaker for emitting the sound stimuli and a processing and control unit.