Hearing loss is one of the most common congenital disorders. The CDC reports, 90% of infants born with hearing loss have two hearing parents. Ensure your patient’s care is right on time by coordinating care that is family centered and ensuring services are provided allowing the child to achieve their maximum potential. Always remember 1,3,6:
- Hearing screening no later than 1 month of age.
- Review results and risk factors. Schedule diagnostic audiologic evaluations if the baby does not pass the hearing screening.
- Diagnostic audiologic evaluation no later than 3 months of age.
- If a diagnosis is confirmed, provide appropriate medical referrals, provide information about communication options and refer to early intervention services.
- Early intervention services no later than 6 months of age.
- Services beginning no later than six months of age provide improved communication outcomes. Communicate with family about ongoing audiology services.
A Special Note to Physicians
Follow-Up is Key
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institutes of Health, the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing, and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) endorse universal newborn hearing screening before hospital discharge, diagnostic evaluation by three months of age and initiation of appropriate intervention services by six months of age. When a patient receives a failed hearing screening result, it should be viewed as a “Developmental Emergency” until normal hearing is documented or an audiological diagnosis is made.
Most importantly, repeat screening should only be performed in babies less than one month of age, regardless of the physical exam. Please refer all infants who fail the screen for a Pediatric Audiological Evaluation if they are older than one month of age as well as any infant with two abnormal screens for diagnostic evaluation without repeating further screening test. It is vital for parents to understand the importance of completing this evaluation before three months of age. Children with a diagnosed hearing condition should be re-evaluated by a pediatric audiologist every six months and receive enhanced development screening during well-child visits to support optimal language outcomes.
Rules
Resources
- Providers of Follow-up Infant Hearing Screening
- Joint Committee on Infant Hearing
- 2019 JCIH Position Statement
- Letter to All Arkansas Primary Care Physicians
- Primary Care Physicians’ Guide For Infant Hearing Screenings
- Non-Permanent Hearing Loss Recommendations
- American Academy of Pediatrics
- Improving Vocabulary Outcomes Resource
- ENT Toolkit Letter
- ENT Toolkit Booklet
- National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management (NCHAM)
- Boys Town Research Hospital