Hearing Detection and Intervention

Congenital hearing loss affects nearly one in every 500 infants. The Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) program, administered by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), tracks the screening and diagnosis of infants for hearing loss and refers them for appropriate intervention services. The Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Act of 2022 includes a provision for GAO to review the EHDI program. This report (1) describes how HRSA measures EHDI program performance; (2) describes HRSA and CDC efforts to address state programs' reported challenges meeting EHDI benchmarks; (3) describes what HRSA and CDC have done to support state efforts to improve language acquisition and any challenges states may face in improving language acquisition; (4) examines HHS agencies' actions to identify and address disparities in EHDI program access; and (5) describes HRSA's efforts to help ensure support is available to parents of children with a hearing loss diagnosis.