Pregnant women are commonly educated about a variety of ways they should take care of themselves in order to have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby. Some of the most widely known precautions women are advised about during pregnancy are actually quite rare while one of the greatest risks to the health of a developing fetus remains largely undisclosed to women, cytomegalovirus or CMV which is the leading cause of birth defects. The fact that CMV is left out of most conversations health care providers have with pregnant women is especially surprising given that there are relatively simple th ..read more

The joy of welcoming a new child can be mixed with surprise and various emotions for families learning that their child is deaf or hard of hearing. Suddenly faced with understanding their child's needs and finding ways to support their child’s success, these families are fortunately not alone. A range of dedicated professionals, including audiologists, healthcare providers, teachers of the deaf, speech-language pathologists, and early intervention specialists are ready to support, assist and educate. Each offers unique and crucial support. Additionally, the value of parent-to-parent or family ..read more

When a child is diagnosed as deaf or hard of hearing, families suddenly face an unexpected and often challenging situation. They have to start navigating a flood of information and start making crucial decisions about how they will be communicating with their child. Although these families often have access to qualified experts for guidance through this process, the support of primary care providers, child care providers, extended family, and friends is also vital. These supporters can be especially helpful to families if they have at least some understanding of the decisions the family is fac ..read more

Approximately 40% of early childhood hearing loss and deafness can be attributed to a virus known as cytomegalovirus, usually referred to as CMV. If a pregnant individual contracts CMV, it can be transmitted to the fetus in-utero. Approximately 1 out of every 200 babies is born with CMV of which 90% will present as asymptomatic and will likely go unidentified. Of those it is estimated that 10-15% will experience hearing loss which may be present at birth or develop later in life. CMV is the most common non-genetic cause of hearing loss. In this episode of EarWorm, we will be talking about ways ..read more

The newborn hearing screening system known as the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention or EHDI system is lauded as one of the most significant public health achievements of that last several decades.  Approximately 3 in 1000 children are identified with a permanent hearing loss as a result of newborn screening.   Despite the significance of this programmatic achievement it is estimated that the number of children with permanent hearing loss doubles in a few short years following the newborn period. Promising Methods now exist that would allow us to identify many of these children ..read more

Increased availability of quality early hearing screening and diagnostic services over the last several decade has been revolutionary. With an early identification of hearing loss parents are able to make important decisions about how to ensure their child will have access to language, one way or another, so that they can thrive in all areas of development. Current technology is also making it increasingly easier to determine the cause of a hearing loss. When the cause of a hearing loss is able to be determined, it can sometimes help to predict the stability of the current hearing status, whet ..read more

We all make assumptions as we navigate various challenges in life. Many of those well tested assumptions allow us to function very efficiently but sometimes our assumptions may be incorrect. In this episode we will be talking about one family’s experience that illustrates this point in the context of a young child’s development that took an unexpected and unnoticed turn. It is a story of a child who passed all of her newborn screenings including the hearing screening. But some time later, her hearing status changed without her parents or health care provider realizing it. Host: William Eiserma ..read more

During the well child visits that start within the first several weeks after a baby is born, the pediatrician or other health care provider begins to monitor a number of health and development concerns, one of which is to check the child’s newborn hearing screening result. If a newborn doesn't pass a hearing screening conducted before hospital discharge, or one performed within the first few weeks of life, then referral for audiological evaluation is the next needed step. In most instances, children pass the newborn hearing screening. With approximately 98% of all infants in the US now receivi ..read more