Infant Hearing Screening Update

Editor: Well, there's good news and bad news regarding infant hearing screening, as reported by the WCHH and its partners. For more information on these organizations, please visit their websites:

World Council on Hearing Health (WCHH) - www.WCHH.com
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) - www.aap.org
National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management (NCHAM) - www.infanthearing.org

Here are portions of the press release.

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Annual Report Card on Infant Hearing Screenings Shows Positive Progress Towards the Detection of America's Number One Birth Defect

Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, M.D. Urges Hearing Screenings for Every Newborn in America

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jackie Tate: (202) 944-3375
jackie.tate@hillandknowlton.com

Washington, D.C. (May 5, 2004) -- Today the World Council on Hearing Health (WCHH) in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management (NCHAM) released the results of its Annual Hearing Healthy Kids State Report Card on Infant Hearing Screenings, citing a 64.8 percent increase in newborn hearing screenings in the past five years. The percentage of babies screened for hearing loss at birth has risen to an all time high of 89.8 percent as states ensure early detection of this silent epidemic.

In November 1999, the World Council on Hearing Health (formerly the National Campaign for Hearing Health) released data that indicated only 25 percent of U.S. newborns were screened for hearing loss that year. While there is widespread compliance with 50 states and the District of Columbia adopting policies or laws that mandate hearing screenings at birth, there are still a number of states that received an unsatisfactory rating of their newborn hearing screening programs including Alaska, California, and Ohio.

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Approximately 33 babies are born each day with significant permanent hearing loss. Experts have stressed the importance of screening all babies at birth in order to prevent these children from leaving the hospital with undetected hearing loss. With 89.8 percent of babies being screened today, that means that three babies still go home every day with undetected deafness or hearing loss.

"One in every one-thousand infants born in the United States today has a severe or profound hearing loss," said former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, M.D. "Without proper screening before the age of three months and appropriate intervention, it can have a severe impact on the development of communication skills, academic achievement, and social functioning of the child. It's not only good medicine, but it demonstrates fiscal responsibility to detect and treat hearing loss early on."

The 2004 findings of the fifth annual State-by-State Report Card indicate the following:

a.. Nine (9) Exemplary States: 95% - 100% of babies being screened, of which less than 50% of the funding for the program comes from temporary federal grants.
b.. Twenty-nine (29) Excellent States: 94 % - 100% of babies being screened, of which most of the funding for the program comes from temporary federal grants.
c.. Ten (10) Good States: 80% - 94% of babies being screened.
d.. Three (3) Unsatisfactory States: 80% or less of babies being screened.

The full report card can be seen on the WCHH Web site.

This increase is largely due to the leadership on this issue by U.S. Rep. James T. Walsh (NY) for sponsoring the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Bill - the "Walsh Bill", the first-ever infant hearing legislation enacted in 1999.

"Before 1999, only 22% of all babies born in the United States had their hearing screened at birth," said Congressman Walsh. "Today, that number is 90% thanks to the encouragement and support of the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Bill. Furthermore, this federal effort supports appropriate intervention so that the impact of hearing loss on the child's development of communication skills, academic achievement, and social functioning is minimized."