Year 2019 Position Statement: Principles and Guidelines for Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Programs
Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention
Joint Committee on Infant Hearing. (2019).
Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention, 4(2), 1-44.
This guideline updates the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing (JCIH) "Year 2007 Position Statement: Principles and Guidelines for Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Programs" and 2013 "Supplement to the JCIH 2007 Position Statement". This current 2019 guideline provides recommendations for hearing screening, identification of hearing loss, and audiological, medical, and educational management for infants, young children, and their families.
Joint Committee on Infant Hearing
The data in the guideline are available elsewhere in the Evidence Maps. See the Associated Articles section below for more information.
The communication development of all infants and children, regardless of hearing status or risk indicators, should be continually monitored by professionals with appropriate training.
Infants identified with either unilateral or bilateral hearing loss should be immediately referred for early intervention services and supports. "Early intervention services should be offered through an approach that reflects the family’s preferences and goals for their child, and should begin as soon as possible after diagnosis but no later than six months of age and require a signed Part C of IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2004) Individualized Family Service Plan" (p. 4).
"Families should have access to information about all resources and programs for intervention, and support and counseling regarding the child’s educational and communication/language needs" (p. 4).
"All infants should undergo hearing screening prior to discharge from the birth hospital and no later than one month of age, using physiologic measures with objective determination of outcome" (p. 4). For infants requiring additional testing or re-screening, hearing status should confirm be confirmed through audiologic evaluation by three months of age.
For infants identified with hearing loss, a comprehensive otologic evaluation should be conducted immediately following identification.
"The child and family should have immediate access, through their audiologist, to high-quality, well-fitted, and optimized hearing aid technology. Access should also be assured, depending on the child’s needs, to cochlear implants (CI), hearing assistive technologies, and visual alerting and informational devices" (p. 4).
Professionals providing interdisciplinary early intervention services should have knowledge and expertise about working with children with hearing loss.
"The [Early Hearing Detection and Intervention] EHDI system should be family-centered with infant and family rights and privacy guaranteed through informed and shared decision-making, and family consent in accordance with state and federal guidelines" (p. 4). EHDI programs should implement evidence-based practices, incorporate the cultural and linguistic characteristics of the family, and document EHDI services through electronic health records and EHDI information systems.
