Monitoring of Risk Factors for Late-Onset Hearing
Loss Among Children
Core Function: Research and Evaluation
The long-term goal of this project is to improve the quality of life for infants and young children with hearing loss by developing improved early detection and intervention procedures. The specific objectives are two-fold: (1) to evaluate the effectiveness of neonatal risk indicators for progressive and/or late-onset hearing loss that were identified by the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing 2000 and (2) to ensure the accuracy of reporting on these neonatal risk indicators by hospitals by implementing quality control measures.
This project also aims to evaluate compliance with the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing 2000 recommendations for monitoring and assessment by the primary care physician and parents who have children with progressive and/or late-onset hearing loss.
This project uses the Washington State Early Detection and Hearing Intervention Program Tracking and Surveillance system to evaluate and monitor the neonatal risk indicators. We estimate a study cohort of approximately 70,000 infants.
Infants at risk for late-onset or progressive hearing loss are seen every six months until age three years for follow-up by an audiologist on the Department of Health (DOH) Preferred Pediatric Audiology List. These audiologists have agreed to submit their results to DOH. On a monthly basis we review the DOH tracking and surveillance database for the number of infants with risk factors who passed the initial hearing screen. We also review those children with and without risk factors who did not pass the hearing screen and were referred for diagnostic audiology.
Assessment tools will be developed and used to determine the accuracy of risk factor reporting. As part of this project, we will also develop educational materials and in-service training for screeners and develop materials for primary care providers concerning risk factors for late-onset and progressive hearing loss.
|
