§2264. Identification of hearing loss in infants

A. The office shall establish, in consultation with the advice of the Louisiana Commission for the Deaf and the advisory council created in R.S. 46:2265, a program for the early identification and follow-up of infants susceptible to a hearing disability, deaf or hard of hearing infants, and infants susceptible to developing progressive hearing loss. The program shall, at a minimum:

(1) Develop criteria or factors to identify those infants who are likely deaf or hard of hearing and infants who may develop a progressive hearing loss, including the risk factors set forth in this Chapter, and develop a susceptibility questionnaire for infant hearing loss.

(2) Create a susceptibility registry to include, but not be limited to, the identification of infants susceptible to hearing loss, deaf or hard of hearing infants, and infants susceptible to developing progressive hearing loss.

(3) Provide to the hospitals and other birthing sites the susceptibility questionnaire for infant hearing loss and require that the form be completed for any newborn prior to discharge from the hospital or other birthing site. As to infants susceptible to a hearing disability, copies of the completed susceptibility questionnaire shall be distributed to the susceptibility registry of the office, the parent or guardian, and, if known, the infant's primary care physician and the provider of audiological services.

(4) Require for all newborn infants that the hospital of birth or that hospital to which the newborn infant may be transferred provide screening for hearing loss by auditory brainstem response (ABR) screening, evoked otoacoustic emissions (EOAE) screening, or any other screening device approved by the office before discharge. The results of that screening for hearing loss shall be provided to the susceptibility registry of the office, the parent or guardian, and if known, the primary care physician and the provider of audiological services.

(5) Develop and provide to the hospitals or other birthing sites appropriate written materials regarding hearing loss, and require that the hospitals or other birthing sites provide this written material to all parents or guardians of newborn infants.

(6) Develop methods to contact parents or guardians of infants susceptible to a hearing disability, of deaf or hard of hearing infants, and of infants susceptible to developing progressive hearing loss.

(7) Establish a telephone hotline to communicate information about hearing loss, hearing screening, audiological evaluation, and other services for deaf or hard of hearing infants.

(8) Provide that when a screening indicates a hearing loss, audiological evaluation shall be done as soon as practical. The parents or guardians of the infant shall be provided with information on locations at which medical and audiological follow up can be obtained.

B. The office shall consult with the advisory council and implement the program.

C. The office shall develop a system for the collection of data, determine the cost-effectiveness of the program, and disseminate statistical reports to the Louisiana Commission for the Deaf.

D. The office, in cooperation with the state Department of Education, shall develop a plan to coordinate early educational and audiological services for infants identified as deaf or hard of hearing.

E. The office shall follow current practices and applicable guidelines that are currently utilized in Louisiana and will consider practices and guidelines that may be established by the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders (NIDCD).

Acts 1992, No. 417, §1; Acts 1999, No. 653, §1; Acts 2017, No. 146, §11.