Every new born should be tested for hearing loss, urges the National Campaign
for Hearing Health. As part of its May Babies 2000 initiative, the national
hearing advocacy organization has issued a report card grading all 50 states,
the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico on their hearing health initiatives.
The campaign's objective is to get state legislators to adopt policies requiring
hearing screenings to be done at birth. The goal is for 50% of the nation's
newborns to be screened by the end of May, up from the current level of 35%.
Currently, 24 states are enforcing these policies.
The report card grades states hearing efforts as unsatisfactory, fair, good
or excellent based on the percentage of babies screened and whether policies
are in place.
Hawaii was the first state to pass hearing legislation and has a 99% screening
rate. It received an excellent ranking.
On the other hand, California received a fair ranking. However, the state has
recently enacted legislation and in eight months has gone from a screening rate
of less than 1% to just over 11%.
(National Campaign for Hearing Health, Elizabeth Foster, 202/408-0808, http://www.hearinghealth.net)