HOME SCREENING OF INFANT HEARING

A NEW, INNOVATIVE KIT FOR PARENT SCREENING OF INFANT HEARING(0-24 MONTHS) WILL BE DEVELOPED AND GIVEN TO 300 PARENT PAIRS TO VALIDATE A HOME SCREENING PROGRAM, USING SPECIAL FREQUENCY SOUND-MAKERS. OF THE APPROXIMATELY 4,000,000 BABIES BORN IN THE UNITED STATES EACH YEAR, OVER 1,000,000 DEVELOP HEARING PROBLEMS FROM RECURRENT OTITIS MEDIA DURING THEIR FIRST 24 MONTHS. APPROXIMATELY 8,000 OF THESE INFANTSCAN BE FOUND WITH CONGENITAL HEARING LOSSES. IF SUCH HEARING LOSSES (EVEN AS SLIGHT AS 10 TO 15DB) ARE NOT DETECTED AND TREATED PROMPTLY, SERIOUS DELAYS CAN OCCUR IN SPEECH AND LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT. ALL TOO FREQUENTLY THIS CAN PREVENT THE CHILD FROM REACHING HIS HIGHEST POTENTIAL. THE COSTS TO SOCIETY OF HEARING LOSS AND CONSEQUENT REMEDIALAND OTHER PROGRAMS IS STAGGERING. AN EFFECTIVE CONTRIBUTIONTO EARLY INTERVENTION AND TREATMENT TO REDUCE THE PROBLEM ISURGENTLY REQUIRED. THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROJECT ARE TO: (1) DEMONSTRATE THAT A WELL-DEVELOPED HOME TEST SYSTEM CAN BE USED SUCCESSFULLY BY PARENTS TO IDENTIFY INFANT HEARING PROBLEMS; (2) CONFIRM WITH FOLLOWUP PROFESSIONAL TESTING THAT PARENTS CAN OBTAIN THE SAME RESULTS AS TRAINED PROFESSIONALS IN RECOGNIZING THAT A PROBLEM EXISTS, BY FOLLOWING SIMPLE INSTRUCTIONS; AND (3) ESTABLISH THE FEASI- BILITY OF WIDE DISTRIBUTION OF THE PRODUCT TO PARENTS OF NEWBORN CHILDREN AND INFANTS.