Historical Moments in Newborn Hearing Screening
1965 - Babbidge Report (Report to the Secretary of HEW). 1
- Recommended the development and nationwide implementation of "universally applied procedures for early identification and evaluation of hearing impairment."
1967 - Recommendations from
the National Conference on Education of the Deaf 2
- High-risk register to facilitate identification.
- Public information campaign.
- Testing of infants and children 5-12 months of age should be investigated.
1988 - Commission on Education of the Deaf 3
- Reported the average age of identification for profoundly deaf children in the US was 2 ½ years.
1988 - An advisory group of national experts convened
- Advisory group selected by the U.S. Department of Education and Bureau of Maternal and Child Health to advise the government about the feasibility of developing early identification guidelines. 4
- Recommended that the federal government fund demonstration projects to expand and document systematically the cost efficiency of proven techniques already in existence but infrequently used.
1988 - Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop issued a challenge 5
- That by the year 2000, 90% of children with significant hearing loss be identified by 12 months of age.
1990 - Joint Committee on Infant Hearing (JCIH) - Position Statement 6
- Recommended that high-risk infants be screened prior to their discharge from the hospital and no later than 3 months after their birth.
1990 - Healthy People 2000 7
- Goal: To reduce the average age at which children with significant hearing impairment are identified to no more than 12 months by year 2000.
1993 - National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Development Program 8
- Recommended all newborns be screened for hearing loss before leaving the hospital.
1994 - The JCIH Position statement 9
- Recommended that "all infants with hearing loss should be identified before 3 months of age and receive intervention by 6 months of age."
1999 - The American Academy of Pediatrics endorses:10
- Universal newborn hearing screening.
- Detection of hearing loss before three months of age.
- Intervention services initiated by six months of age.
- Click here to visit the AAP's website
2000 - The JCIH Year 2000 Position Statement: 11
-
Principles and Guidelines for for Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Programs.
2001 - Healthy People 2010: 12
-
Goal 28-11: Increase the proportion of newborns who are screened for hearing loss by age 1 month, have audiologic evaluation by age 3 months, and are enrolled in appropriate intervention services by age 6 months.
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for a Pdf printable version
References
- Babbidge. Education of the Deaf in the United States: Report of the Advisory Committee on Education of the Deaf. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1995.
- U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Education of the Deaf: The Challenge and the Charge. A Report of the National Conference on Education of the Deaf. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1998.
- Commission on Education of the Deaf. Toward Equality: Education of the Deaf. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1988.
- Advisory Group on the Early Identification of Children with Hearing Impairments. Minutes of the Bureau of Maternal and Child Health/Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services Advisory Group on the Early Identification of Children with Hearing Impairments. Washington, DC: Bureau of Maternal and Child Health. 1988.
- Mauk G.W., Behrens T.R. Historical, political, and technological context associated with early identification of hearing loss. Seminars in Hearing, 1993;14: 1-17.
- Joint Committee on Infant Hearing. 1990 position statement. American Speech/Language Hearing Association,1991; 33(Suppl. 5): 3-6.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service. Healthy People 2000: National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1990.
- National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Statement. Early Identification of Hearing Impairment in Infants and Young Children, 1993; 11(1):1-24.
- Joint Committee on Infant Hearing. 1994 position statement. Pediatrics, 1995; 95: 152-156.
- American Academy of Pediatrics Newborn and Infant Hearing Loss: Detection and Intervention. Pediatrics 1999; 103(2): 527-530.
- Joint Committee on Infant Hearing. 2000 position statement.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service. Healthy People 2010: National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2000.
Contact Us:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
Hearing Loss Team
1600 Clifton Road
MS E-87
Atlanta, GA 30333 - 800-CDC-INFO
(800-232-4636)
TTY: (888) 232-6348
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