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Frequently Asked Questions
When should
an infant be screened for hearing loss?
- All infants should be
screened for hearing loss by 1 month of age, preferably before they
are discharged from the birth hospital. The age of a child when a hearing
impairment is diagnosed is crucial to the development of the child’s
speech, language, cognitive, and psychosocial abilities.
- Without universal screening
by 1 month, the average age at which hearing loss is identified in children
is 2 to 3 years old.
- Newborn hearing screening
costs about $30 per child and takes about 9 minutes to do. Costs are
much higher if a hearing impairment is not diagnosed until later in
life. In the 1995-1996 school year, the total U.S. costs for special
education programs for children who were hearing impaired exceeded $375
million.
- Infants with risk indicators
for progressive or delayed-onset hearing loss should receive audiologic
monitoring every 6 months until age 3years
(JCIH
Year 2000 Position Statement).
- Find out what Screening
Guidelines are recommended by various organizations.
What happens if an infant does not pass the hearing
screening?
- All infants who do not pass the
hearing screening should be referred for an audiological evaluation
to rule out or confirm a hearing loss.
- All infants with confirmed hearing
loss should be referred for a comprehensive medical evaluation to assess
the causes and look for potential or related disabilities.
- Depending on the results of the
audiological and medical examinations, infants may be referred to an
intervention program.
- To find out more about intervention
options, please call the AT&T HealthLine
at (888) 232-6789
- To be able to offer referrals
for follow-up exams and intervention services, efficient state tracking
systems need to be established. Tracking systems are essential to ensure
that children with hearing loss receive appropriate follow-up care.
What are the intervention and treatment
options?
Professionals are responsible
for providing families with information about the full range of intervention
and treatment options so that informed choices can be made. The "best"
choice for each family is complex and dynamic. It may involve simultaneous
use of several options with modifications over time as knowledge about
intervention increases, the child grows and develops, and changes occur
in the family system.
CDC supports the National
Institutes of Health, the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing, and the American
Academy of Pediatrics in endorsing universal newborn hearing screening
before hospital discharge, diagnostic evaluation by 3 months of age, and
initiation of appropriate intervention services by 6 months of age.
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