Courtesy of UK.gov
“Because the brain is so pliable in those early months, the sooner we can get them diagnosed and get them access to language, the more likely they will be able to develop on track with their peers.”
ICS Research Professor Christine Yoshinaga-Itano's paper "Early Hearing Detection and Vocabulary of Children With Hearing Loss" was recently published in the journal Pediatrics. Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the paper is the first multistate study to assess the impact of Early Hearing Detection Intervention (EHDI) 1-3-6 guidelines. ICS Research Associates Dr. Allison Sedey and Dr. Mallene Wiggin were also authors of the paper.
The study found theat children with hearing loss who are diagnosed by 3 months of age and receive interventions by 6 months develop a far greater vocabulary than those whose diagnosis and treatment come later. Yet 17 years after early detection guidelines were established, nearly half of babies with hearing loss aren’t meeting them.
Read more at CU Boulder Today: Babies with hearing loss need early intervention, but only half get it