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Early Hearing Detection & Intervention (EHDI) Program |
“If your baby was screened for hearing loss and
failed, now that you are home, your inclination may be to just let
it go, and wait. Please don’t. Go back for the second screening, and
if advised, on to a formal assessment with an audiologist. If there
is something wrong with your baby’s hearing, NOW is the time to find
out.”
- Quote from a parent of a
child with hearing loss
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EHDI Basics |
- Each year in the United States (U.S.), more than 12,000
babies are born with a hearing loss. The cause of hearing loss
for many babies is not known, and hearing loss can go unnoticed
for years.
- Studies have shown that children who have a hearing loss can
have delays in speech, language, social skills, and academic
achievement. This is why all babies need a hearing screening,
which helps find children who may have a hearing loss.
- Most babies have a hearing screening soon after birth,
usually before they leave the hospital. This is often called
Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHS). That means
everybody is screened.
- When a child’s hearing loss is identified soon after birth,
the child’s family and doctors can make sure the child gets
services (e.g., intervention) he or she needs at an early age.
This will help the child develop communication and language
skills that will last a lifetime.
- Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI)
programs are set up by U.S. states and territories to help make
sure that infants and children with hearing loss are found and
receive help (e.g., intervention) as soon as possible.
- UNHS is the first step in the EHDI process;
other important steps are audiological evaluation to confirm a
hearing loss, and early intervention services.
The EHDI program at CDC supports states and territories in
developing and implementing EHDI tracking and surveillance systems.
These systems help state EHDI programs make sure that babies get the
hearing screening, follow-up, and early intervention services they
need.
To learn more about EHDI please click here.
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Date:
November 29, 2008
Content source: National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental
Disabilities
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