Health

Children with Early Hearing Loss and Existing Comorbid Conditions

Children with Early Hearing Loss and Existing Comorbid Conditions in New Jersey: State Data and The Experience of Families presents a unique constellation of resources and an innovative research design to learn more about infants born with hearing loss who also have another health condition.

Children with Early Hearing Loss and Existing Comorbid Conditions in New Jersey: State Data and The Experience of Families is a partnership between The Elizabeth M. Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities, New Jersey's University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, and The NJ Department of Health and Senior Services, Division of Family Health Services, Early Identification and Monitoring Program. This partnership will enable the project to combine the information from state surveillance data systems with information obtained from families to understand the impact of hearing loss with other conditions. Additional information gathered from audiologists will contribute to developing a more complete analysis of the needs of these children. The research project is funded by the CDC's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, under a Cooperative Agreement with the Association of University Centers on Disabilities.

To develop an understanding of the impact and interaction of early hearing loss and comorbid conditions, the collaborative project team has established the following research goals:

1. To identify the prevalence of early hearing loss in children with existing comorbid conditions who fail newborn/initial hearing screening

2. To identify the impact of existing comorbid conditions on follow-up of failed initial hearing screenings

3. To describe the experience and needs of families of children with early hearing loss and comorbid conditions

4. To determine the knowledge and experience of audiologists in evaluating and providing services to children with early hearing loss and existing comorbid conditions

Project Director: Deborah M. Spitalnik, Ph.D.
Project Coordinator: Carrie Coffield