diff --git a/lib/change_stream.js b/lib/change_stream.js
index 4233c35837..0c0f5337fa 100644
--- a/lib/change_stream.js
+++ b/lib/change_stream.js
@@ -71,6 +71,8 @@ var ChangeStream = function(collection, pipeline, options) {
   });
 };
 
+inherits(ChangeStream, EventEmitter);
+
 // Create a new change stream cursor based on self's configuration
 var createChangeStreamCursor = function(self) {
   if (self.resumeToken) {
@@ -354,6 +356,4 @@ var processNewChange = function(self, err, change, callback) {
  * @param {(object|null)} result The result object if the command was executed successfully.
  */
 
-inherits(ChangeStream, EventEmitter);
-
 module.exports = ChangeStream;