Children can only develop spoken language through consistent exposure to the acoustic cues that comprise speech and language. Until recently, hearing levels from the clinical audiogram were the primary measure used to define typical hearing and the presence or degree of a child's hearing loss. While the clinical audiogram remains an important…

Worldwide, 15 million babies are "born too soon" every year (Blencowe et al., 2012; Howson et al., 2013). Remarkably, prematurity survival rates now exceed 93% across all countries. More than 360,000 preterm babies survived in the United States in 2020; 10% of all births (Blencowe et al., 2012; Howson et al., 2013). While this is an…

The use of remote technology to provide cochlear implant services has gained popularity in recent years. This article contains a review of research evaluating the feasibility of remote service delivery for recipients of cochlear implants. To date, published studies have determined that speech-processor programming levels and other objective tests…

This manuscript describes a pilot project in which infants in Guam who refer on newborn hearing screening receive diagnostic audiological evaluation conducted by audiologists in Colorado over the Internet (telepractice). The evaluation is completed in real time using commercially-available software and personal computers to control the diagnostic…

The purpose of this study is to show the changing trends within the population of children who are deaf and hard of hearing in Belgium over the last 12 years. The combination of Universal Newborn Hearing Screening programs, early intervention, and cochlear implants have tremendously influenced the education and support of children who are deaf or…

Because newborn hearing screening has become the standard of care in the United States, every state has established an early hearing detection and intervention (EHDI) program responsible for establishing, maintaining, and improving the system of services needed to serve children with hearing loss and their families. While significant developments…

State coordinators of early hearing detection and intervention (EHDI) programs completed a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, or SWOT, analysis that examined 12 areas within state EHDI programs. For audiological evaluation and services, 299 items were listed by 49 coordinators, and themes were identified within each SWOT category.…

State coordinators of early hearing detection and intervention (EHDI) programs completed a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, or SWOT, analysis that examined 12 areas within state EHDI programs. Concerning periodic early childhood hearing screening, 47 coordinators listed 241 items and themes were identified within each SWOT…

The article presents a systematic approach to examining the auditory abilities of hearing impaired children that is intended not only to evaluate a child's listening skills, but to point out specific difficulties and thus suggest directions for rehabilitation. (DLS)

Text and graphs describe the Dynamic Range Configuration audiogram developed at the Central Institute for the Deaf in St. Louis, Missouri. The audiogram displays the portion of the average speech spectrum audible to the child, with and without amplification, and can be effective in counseling parents and planning appropriate amplification.…

Infant hearing screening is emerging rapidly as a silent global revolution for the early detection of children with congenital or early onset hearing loss to ensure timely enrollment in family-oriented intervention programs for the development of spoken language. This article examines the overriding and interrelated scientific, ethical and…

Between 2000 and 2006, the University Clinic for Ear Nose and Throat and Communication Disorders in Mainz, Germany, performed 41 bilateral cochlear implantations in children. This article addresses some of the factors to be considered in a decision to bilaterally implant a child, including the age of the child at the first implant, the length of…

This paper examines the special considerations involved in selecting a speech perception test battery for young deaf children. The auditory-only tests consisted of closed-set word identification tasks and minimal-pairs syllable tasks. Additional tests included identification of words in sentences, open-set word recognition, and evaluation of…

Examples of 26 toys and games that can be used as rewards for language lessons and audiological evaluation of hearing-impaired children are listed. The materials are explained to provide reinforcement for the child's speech production. Materials are briefly described and names of their publishers given. (CL)