Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

About the Project

Without newborn hearing screening and resources, hearing differences are typically not identified until around two years of age and can lead to significant delays in development. These simple screenings and follow up evaluations can help quickly identify any potential issues and connect caregivers with early intervention services, including sign language and hearing technology. The earlier deaf and hard of hearing children begin receiving services that align with their family goals, the more likely they are to develop crucial developmental skills.

State-based Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) programs coordinate these statewide screening and referral systems and collect data on whether these screenings were completed, as well as their timing and location. To ensure that babies receive timely intervention, EHDI recommends screening for hearing before 1 month of age, a diagnostic audiology evaluation before 3 months of age and enrollment in early intervention before 6 months of age–known as 1-3-6 benchmarks.

To help states better understand the reach and effectiveness of their EHDI programs, the CDC Foundation shares insights from individual-level jurisdictional data. The Foundation team looks at socio-demographic factors, like marital status, education, ethnicity and access to federal assistance programs, and explores potential associations between these factors and missed hearing screenings and follow-up appointments.

Once the information is analyzed, the Foundation team meets with states to discuss trends, bright spots and areas for improvement. By identifying where gaps in the data exist, states have a more nuanced picture of what is and isn’t working in their outreach.  

This program is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $300,000 with 100 percent funded by CDC/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, CDC/HHS or the U.S. Government.