The purpose of the Iowa EHDI Best Practices Manual is to advance the development of a comprehensive statewide EHDI system in Iowa. The manual is a guide to assist hospitals, birth centers, Area Education Agencies (AEAs), health care providers and private practice audiologists in developing programs and written protocols for newborn hearing screening, follow up and intervention. Setting best practice standards will ensure that we are working efficiently as possible collectively as a state to advocate for Iowa children.
- Your guide to best practices
- Consult this manual when implementing hearing screening programs into your practice. - Joint Committee on Infant Hearing Screening - JCIH is composed of representatives from audiology, otolaryngology, pediatrics, and nursing. The Committee is charged with making recommendations concerning the early identification of children with, or at-risk for hearing loss and newborn hearing screening. The state EHDI programs use their recommendations as guidelines for best practices.
- Parent Messaging about Results One-Pager - How you talk to parents about the results of the newborn hearing screening matters. Avoid using confusing or diluted messages that dilute the importance of the newborn hearing screening and follow up. This one-pager provides clear, simple language to encourage consistent messaging to parents across the state regarding their child's newborn hearing screening results.
- Communication Guide for Newborn Hearing Screen Results (Being Updated. Check back for updates.) - How do you talk to parents about the importance and significance of their baby’s hearing screening? This document will guide you through an effective, in-depth strategy for communicating with parents throughout the screening process.
- Hearing loss checklist - Use this to make sure that you are making all the appropriate referrals when a child has a hearing loss.
- Tips for a Successful Screening - Includes tips for a successful screening and recommendations for how to talk to parents.
- Self-Rating Best Practices Rubric for Birth Facilities - Outlines requirements for best practices for birthing facilities. This self-rating tool will aid you in identifying areas of strength and areas to improve.
- Hearing Follow-Up Flowchart - Includes a diagram that represent the 1-3-6 process. Contact a diagnostic audiology provider for appropriate diagnostic testing for babies who do not pass their newborn or hearing screening.
Protocols
At each stage of the process, there are certain policies that should be followed. Consult the documents below to learn about these different protocols.
Research and Best Practices Articles
Stay up-to-date with current research on hearing screening, devices and treatment.
- Using Music to Support Language Development in Children with Hearing Loss
- Expanding the Role of Educational Audiologists After a Failed Newborn Hearing Screening: A Quality Improvement Study
- Is One Ear Good Enough? Unilateral Hearing Loss and Preschoolers' Comprehension of the English Plural
- Early Hearing Detection and Vocabulary of Children with Hearing Loss
- Infants and Children with Hearing Loss Need Early Language
- High Risk Factors Associated with Early Childhood Hearing Loss: A 3-year Review
- Amplification, Implants and FM Systems
- CMV Infection and Hearing Loss
- Genetics of Early Childhood Hearing Loss
- Improving the System of Care
- Increasing the Number of Infants Receiving Follow-up
- Late Onset Hearing Loss
- Loss to Follow-Up
- Medical Care for Sensorineural Hearing Loss
- Medical Home Initiatives
- Mild and Unilateral Hearing Loss in Children
- Parent-to-Parent Support for Parents With Children Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
- Pediatric Auditory Neuropathy
- Preventative Taskforce Recommendations
- Risk Indicators for Congenital and Delayed-Onset Hearing Loss
- Success of Infant Screening
- The Influence of Hearing Aid Use on Outcomes of Children with Mild Hearing Loss
- Special Issue on Ear and Hearing on Data from OCHL Study
