Newborn Hearing Screening

In this second issue of the Heartland e-newsletter we are excited to feature the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) programs in our eight-state region.

When hearing loss is left undetected in newborns, there is an increased risk of later problems with language and speech, social and emotional developmental delays and academic performance. Nearly 12,000 babies are born each year with hearing loss. Since 1993, when the NIH Consensus Development Conference recommended that all newborns be screened for hearing loss, 42 states now require newborn hearing screening before a baby leaves the hospital. In our region, six of eight states mandate newborn hearing screening and in the other two, screening is voluntary but uptake is high.

We hope that you enjoy learning more about our state EDHI programs and we invite your ideas of how the Heartland Collaborative can support these programs or enhance EDHI infrastructure in our region. Additionally, we invite you to visit these websites as resources for both professionals and families/parents:

The National Center for Hearing Assessment & Management
http://www.infanthearing.org

National Newborn Screening and Genetics Resource Center
http://genes-r-us.uthscsa.edu/resources/newborn/HearingScreening.htm

American Academy of Pediatrics—Medical Home
http://www.medicalhomeinfo.org/screening/hearing.html

Finally, this issue would not be possible without the contributions from all the state EDHI coordinators and Patricia Burk for her input and guidance on the content development of this newsletter issue.

Happy Holidays!
Heartland Regional Coordinating Center