Presently, approximately 3 in 1,000 infants are born deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH). An additional population segment of 3 in 1,000 children experience permanent hearing changes after the newborn period and become D/HH during childhood. Early identification (including screening at birth and periodically in childhood) along with the consistent provision of services are essential to ensure that D/HH children experience healthy cognitive and socio-emotional development. Information shared with families should be accurate, comprehensive, up-to-date, and evidence-based to allow families to make important decisions for their children in a timely manner, including decisions with respect to the full range of assistive hearing technologies and communications modalities, as appropriate.
Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Overview
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) program is part of a cooperative agreement between the AAP and the Maternal and Child Health Bureau. The goal of the AAP EHDI program is to improve the effectiveness of newborn hearing screening, diagnosis, and intervention by increasing the involvement of pediatricians, other physicians, and nonphysician clinicians in state EHDI programs.
The AAP EHDI Program has 3 goals:
- Every child receives appropriate and timely hearing screening, and when indicated, diagnostic evaluation following the EHDI guidelines.
- Every child who is found to be D/HH receives comprehensive and coordinated care within the medical home model that maximizes development, language, and medical outcomes.
- Pediatricians and health care teams caring for D/HH children within the medical home have access to up-to-date resources, guidelines, and strategies beginning from hearing screening and continuing through identification and intervention.
Professional Tools & Resources
Podcasts and Voices Blogs
Learn what others are saying. Listen to our podcasts and read our blog posts.
Early Hearing Detection and Intervention, Child Fatality Reviews – Episode 195 (Video)
In this episode Susan Wiley, MD, FAAP, explains the importance of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention when it comes to language acquisition. Hosts David Hill, MD, FAAP, and Joanna Parga-Belinkie, MD, FAAP, also talk to Erich Batra, MD, FAAP, about how Child Fatality Reviews identify causes of death and help lead to prevention.
Pediatrics on Call
|March 12, 2024
Hearing Screenings and Interventions - Episode 14
Hosts David Hill, MD, FAAP, and Joanna Parga-Belinkie, MD, FAAP discuss with Jareen Meinzen-Derr, MD, PhD, MPH, FACE, her Pediatrics article about the effects of early intervention for children who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Pediatrics on Call
|September 29, 2020
Last Updated
11/11/2021
Source
American Academy of Pediatrics