Pediatric Hearing Screening in the Medical Home: A Model Program

Deafness is the most common disability present at birth. In the United States, approximately one in 300 infants is born with permanent hearing loss. We have long known that diagnosis in early infancy and intervention within the first few months of life can prevent the tragic consequences of limited communication, low school achievement and life-long dependency that can result from delayed detection of childhood deafness (Yoshinaga-Itano, 1995). Additionally, diagnosing these children early can trigger a closer look at medical conditions sometimes linked with deafness, such as heart arrhythmia and vision and kidney problems. Indeed, researchers in the field agree that no group has more to gain from early identification than children with hearing loss (Joint Committee on Infant Hearing, 2000). Until the last few years, the average age of diagnosis for hearing loss was 30 months. Advances in technology have now made it feasible to screen babies at birth using objective physiologic measures, and Newborn Hearing Screening Programs of the country in the percentage of newborns screened, has recently passed legislation (AB 2651) to try to address this gap. However, follow-up