Early Hearing Detection and Intervention by Telepractice

Abstract

Early hearing detection and intervention (EHDI) refers to a system of care to ensure that infants who are deaf or hard of hearing receive early diagnosis and intervention. Components of this system include newborn hearing screening (NBS), follow-up diagnostic audiological evaluation (DAE), medical/otological assessment and treatment, audiological habilitation such as hearing aid fitting, and enrollment in early intervention services (EI). A significant barrier to achieving prompt diagnosis of and EI for every baby is lack of access to audiologists and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) with specific expertise in diagnosis, (re)habilitation, and intervention for infants who are deaf or hard of hearing. To improve access to services, clinicians are exploring the use of telepractice for specific components of the EHDI system. At Children's Hospital Colorado, we developed telepractice services that include two components of EHDI, DAE, and speech-language EI services. We discuss the development, implementation, outcomes, and advantages and disadvantages of telepractice for these components of an EHDI system.