Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program

The EHDI Advisory Committee was established to provide direction and guidance to the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program. The membership represents a broad collaboration of persons and organizations that have an interest in the success of the program.

Mission Statement

The EHDI Advisory Committee is committed to the adoption of Universal Newborn Hearing Screening and Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Programs. Our goal is to facilitate the early identification, diagnosis, amplification and intervention of infants and children with hearing loss in order to maximize developmental outcomes.

Purpose

The purpose of the EHDI Advisory Committee is to guide the development, coordination, and quality evaluation of community-based EHDI programs. Specifically,

• To foster an understanding of the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) process within community settings with families and professionals;
• To encourage the development of efficient programs involved in the EHDI process including screening, re-screening, diagnosis, amplification, habilitation, and intervention within community settings;
• To encourage research of EHDI services within community settings; and
• To review NC State EHDI program performance as compared to the National EHDI quality indicators and outcome measurements for a Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Program and EHDI Tracking and Surveillance System.

"1 - 3 - 6" for Newborn Hearing Screening

Early identification of hearing loss and early intervention are critical to speech/language development in children. As a result, North Carolina has the following goals for all children:

1 = All infants are screened for hearing loss prior to discharge from birthing/neonatal facilities, or within one month of birth.

3 = All infants referred from the screening process complete diagnostic audiological evaluation (PDF, 29 KB) by 3 months of age.

6 = All infants with diagnosed hearing loss receive appropriate interventions by 6 months of age, including amplification selection (PDF, 31 KB) (if appropriate) and Early Intervention.

Diagnostic Testing Sites