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NIDCD Highlights
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Hearing Loss in Infants and Young Children
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Clearinghouse Update
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Information Exchange
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CHID Online
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Calendar
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NIH Pub. No. 00-4202
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Vision and Hearing: National Priorities for a Healthy Decade
Healthy People 2010, the new decade's better health agenda, kicked off in Washington, DC, on January 24-28, 2000, at the "Partnerships for Health in the New Millenium" conference. Included in this agenda is a new focus, "Vision and Hearing." The primary goal of Healthy People is to provide the information tools that health professionals and communities need, both locally and nationally, to improve health in 28 different priority categories. From physical fitness to family planning, from cancer to HIV, Healthy People 2010 covers a range of health issues. The vision and hearing chapter of the written plan focuses on eight specific hearing-related objectives:
- Newborn hearing screening, evaluation, and intervention.
- Otitis media.
- Rehabilitation for adults.
- On-schedule hearing evaluations.
- Evaluation and treatment referrals.
- Hearing protection.
- Preventing noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) in children.
- Preventing NIHL in workers and the public.
Through the timely dissemination of information about health promotion and disease prevention, Healthy People 2010 will bring attention to early detection, treatment, and rehabilitation, with the goal of improving the hearing health of the nation.
Hearing impairment and deafness affect some 28 million Americans. Many hearing impairments are permanent. For babies who are born deaf or with a hearing impairment, the earliest possible detection and intervention are crucial. Currently, a child's hearing loss is usually diagnosed between the ages of 14 months and 3 years--resulting in the loss of a significant window of opportunity for acquiring language, whether spoken or signed. A delayed diagnosis can also affect a child's social skills. Healthy People 2010 recognizes the important role that early identification plays in a child's development and notes that many States are mandating that hospitals screen newborns in the nursery or within the first 3 months of life.
Another important objective highlighted in the Healthy People agenda is to reduce the number of people affected by NIHL, a completely preventable form of hearing loss. NIHL may result from an extremely loud noise that happens suddenly or from repeated exposure to loud noise. Explosions, the firing of a rifle, and firecrackers can all cause immediate damage. Prolonged exposure to any noise above 90 decibels can cause gradual hearing loss. Gas lawn mowers, amplified music, and chainsaws are a few examples of sounds that can cause cumulative damage. Ten million people in the U.S. have already experienced irreversible hearing loss, and an additional 30 million people are exposed to dangerous levels of noise each day. People at highest risk include carpenters, construction workers, and others who are constantly exposed to industrial noise. Members of the general public who fail to protect themselves and their children from NIHL are also at risk. Healthy People 2010 highlights the efforts of WISE EARS!®, the NIHL prevention education campaign led by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders with support from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and more than 50 coalition members, including organizations representing audiologists, workers, patients, business, and the public.
The hearing chapter closes with a reminder that advances in assistive technologies are creating new opportunities for people who are deaf and hard of hearing. As work and social environments become increasingly dependent upon information-gathering and communication skills, innovative assistive technologies will ensure that individuals with communication disorders are able to fulfill their potential.
To find out more about Healthy People 2010 and its eight specific hearing-related objectives, visit the Healthy People web site at http://www.health.gov/healthypeople/.
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