University of Miami (UM) Psychologist Alexandra L. Quittner leads one of the largest, most nationally representative studies of the effects of parenting on very young, deaf children who have received cochlear implants. The findings indicate that mothers who are most sensitive in their interactions with their children receiving cochlear implants have kids that develop language faster, almost “catching up” to their hearing peers. The report is published in the Journal of Pediatrics.

Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130308103414.htm

Legislative, technological, and pedagogical innovations have
greatly impacted the field of deaf education in the United States. These
changes have provided children who are deaf and hard of hearing with a greater
range of options for educational experiences that were not available
historically. This article highlights some of the major changes in the field of
education for children who are deaf and hard of hearing, along with some of the
future opportunities and challenges that result from such rapid change.

Link: http://www.listeningandspokenlanguage.org/Document.aspx?id=1760

Read this inspirational interview with one of this year’s general session speakers at the 2013 AG Bell Listening and Spoken Language Symposium, Dana Suskind, M.D. Dr. Suskind shares her life and work and provides insights
into Project ASPIRE, the program she and her team developed to help parents
strengthen their abilities to enrich their child’s language environment, and
ultimately enhance their listening and spoken language skills. This interview
was originally featured as part of the LSL Leading Edge, which is available exclusively
to professional members.

Link: http://www.listeningandspokenlanguage.org/Document.aspx?id=1733

Scientists at Vanderbilt University have developed a way to reprogram cochlear implants that dramatically improves the quality and clarity of users’ hearing.

Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130305200208.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fhealth_medicine%2Fhearing_loss+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Health+%26+Medicine+News+--+Hearing+Loss%29

To review the 10 Essential Health Benefits for the Affordable Care Act, please follow this link. 

Link: http://cciio.cms.gov/resources/factsheets/ehb-2-20-2013.html

The March edition of Probes and Tips is now available:  When to Answer a Screening Question with More Questions. This edition includes such items as:

• Tips for helping colleagues successfully implement hearing screening–before spending money!
• Questions to ask of your associates to help them think through the service system infrastructure needed in relation to:
  1. Access to/Relationships with families
  2. Access to medical/audiological services
  3. A system for tracking
  4. Stable staffing
  5. A service area
  6. Focus on child language development and hearing

Link: http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs154/1102782899287/archive/1112649140682.html

Scientists say babies decipher speech as early as three months before birth. The evidence comes from detailed brain scans of 12 infants born prematurely. At just 28 weeks’ gestation, the babies appeared to discriminate between different syllables like “ga” and “ba” as well as male and female voices. The research lends support to the idea that babies develop language skills while still in the womb in response to their parents’ voices. But it is still debated whether humans are born with an innate ability to process speech or whether this is something acquired through learning after birth.

Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21572520

In 2012, WHO released new estimates on the magnitude of disabling hearing loss. The estimates are based on a review of 42 population-based studies carried out up to 2010. Based on these, the estimates are as follows:

• There are 360 million persons in the world with disabling hearing loss (5.3% of the world’s population).
• 328 million (91%)of these are adults (183 million males, 145 million females)
• 32 (9%) million of these are children.
• The prevalence of disabling hearing loss in children is greatest in South Asia, Asia Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa
• Approximately one-third of persons over 65 years are affected by disabling hearing loss.
• The prevalence of disabling hearing loss in adults over 65 years is highest in South Asia, Asia Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa.

For a short PowerPoint presentation that provides further information on these estimates, please follow this link.

Link: http://www.who.int/pbd/deafness/estimates/en/index.html

Given the rapid adoption of telehealth and tele-intervention, reimbursement for this mode of delivery also is rapidly changing. The typical sources of reimbursement for early intervention services are Medicaid, private insurance, and Part C. For more information to pursue reimbursement from these sources, please review the page on reimbursement as part of the Tele-intervention Guide by following this link. 

Link: http://www.infanthearing.org/ti-guide/reimbursement.html