ECHOs of EHDI:ECHOs of EHDI:

How Periodic Early Childhood Screening is Growing

William Eiserman, PhD, Lenore Shisler, MS, Terry Foust, AuD - CCC-A, Randi Winston, AuD - FAAA, Karl White, PhD, Jan Buhrmann, PhD

Why is Periodic Hearing Why is Periodic Hearing Screening so Screening so

Important?Important?

Despite progress related to newborn hearing screening, approximately 10% of newborns in the US are not screened at birth, and 30-50% of infants who do not pass their newborn hearing screening are lost to follow-up.

Estimated incidence of sensorineural hearing loss in the US triples between birth and the school-age years, from 1 in 300 to 3 in 300

Hearing loss can occur at any time in a child’s life. Progressive and late-onset may occur at any time throughout early childhood

Approximately 35% of preschool children will have repeated ear infections before 3 years of age, nearly always resulting in fluctuating conductive hearing loss.

Without regular, physiologic screening, hearing loss is often impossible to detect.

Children with unidentified hearing loss are often identified with speech and language delays, described as having behavioral disorders or learning disabilities

Where is periodic Where is periodic screening happening?screening happening?

Head Start Programs Health care settings/Well-child visits Part C / Child find Community Outreach programs

In 2005, Head Start servedIn 2005, Head Start served

Approximately 968,000 children 152,000 were under 3 years In more than 20,000 centers

All children must receive a hearing screening within the first 45 days of enrollment

and annually thereafter.

Head Start has a standing

commitment to periodic early

hearing screening

Status of Head Start Hearing Status of Head Start Hearing Screening PracticesScreening Practices

Most Head Start programs are relying on outdated subjective, screening methods such as hand clapping, bell ringing, and parent questionnaires to screen children 0 – 3 years of age.

Most Head Start programs are unaware that Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) technology, used with newborns, can also be used successfully in early childhood settings.

Purpose:

The Hearing Head Start ECHO Project

update hearing screening practices for children birth to three years served by Head Start programs nationwide through use of Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) technology

ensure that all children with hearing health needs receive timely and appropriate intervention.

15 States15 States

Oregon Washington Utah North Carolina District of Columbia Nebraska Kansas

Colorado Alaska Michigan Arkansas Connecticut Illinois Hawai’i Missouri

OutcomesOutcomes

n=4518 children screened 257 (6%) were referred for medical/audiological follow-up

107 (42%) identified with a hearing loss or disorder requiring treatment or monitoring

* 7 Permanent hearing loss

* 83 Otitis media

* 2 Occluded PE Tubes

* Excessive earwave or congestion

52 (20%) normal/no treatment required

98 (38%) exited program before diagnosis/referral appointment completed

Early Identification of Hearing Loss

Conducting periodical Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) hearing screening with infants and toddlers

during well child visits

Helping Children Hear and Now

Introducing…

a multimedia instructional package for health care providers

Instructional PackageInstructional Package

Three-part instructional DVD (22 min) Instructional Guide Protocol and Documentation Forms

ContentContent

Part 1 – Overview Part 2 - Equipment use and step-

by-step demonstration of OAE screening with infants and toddlers

Part 3 - Integrating OAE screening within a larger hearing health protocol

Next StepsNext Steps