COVID-19 Resources for Professionals: Screening


Importance of Screening, Re-screening, and Reducing Loss to Follow-up

Ensuring infants receive hearing screening and re-screening has been challenging for a variety of reasons during the COVID-19 pandemic including, but not limited to, early discharge of mother and baby from birthing facilities, increased incidence of home births, and challenges getting families to return to the birthing facility for a 2nd screening (aka; re-screening) after a missed or failed 1st screen.

Despite these challenges, continued adherence to 1-3-6 guidelines is necessary to ensure age-appropriate child development. Birthing facilities should employ strategies to ensure high rates of screening and re-screening (95%) during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also important for healthcare professionals to effectively communicate newborn hearing screening results with parents/caretakers upon discharge from the birthing facility. Healthcare professionals are encouraged to employ strategies to reduce loss to follow-up. 

More Information

Best Practices

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management (NCHAM), continued adherence to 1-3-6 guidelines throughout the COVID-19 pandemic (hearing screening by 1 month of age, diagnosis by 3 months of age, entrance into early intervention by 6 months of age) for infants is necessary for healthy development.

The 2019 position statement from the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing (JCIH) recommends that states who meet the 1-3-6 benchmark should strive to meet a 1-2-3 month timeline (hearing screening by 1 month of age, diagnosis by 2 months of age, entrance into early intervention by 6 months of age).

More Information

Infection Control

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), all healthcare workers should don appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) (i.e. gowns, gloves, standard procedural masks, and eye protection) when caring for well infants during the COVID-19 pandemic. When care is provided to a mother with confirmed COVID-19, healthcare workers may choose to use N95 respirators in place of standard procedural masks, if available.

While it is rare for COVID-19 to result in vertical transmission between mother and baby, the Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) recommends that COVID-19 testing should be performed for babies born to mothers with suspected or confirmed COVID-19, whether or not the infant is showing signs of infection. Additional infection control guidelines should be practiced during interactions between mother and baby to reduce risk of transmission.

How can I feel safe as a screener if I am working with mothers or babies that are COVID-19 positive? 

Keeping frontline healthcare workers, including hearing screeners, physically and psychologically safe is important, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Each hospital and facility should have guidelines in place to protect the health and safety of healthcare workers and staff at your facility. If you have a newborn hearing screening coordinator or supervisor at your facility, it is important to establish open communication to make sure you are comfortable with the protocols and procedures in place, including use of personal protective equipment (PPE) to minimize transmission. Both OSHA and the CDC provide guidance and recommendations for healthcare personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

More Information

Importance of Screening, Re-Screening, and Reducing Loss to Follow-Up

Ensuring infants receive hearing screening and re-screening has been challenging for a variety of reasons during the COVID-19 pandemic including but not limited to early discharge of mother and baby from birthing facilities, increased incidence of home births, and challenges getting families to return to the for screening after a missed or failed 1st screen. Despite these challenges, continued adherence to 1-3-6 guidelines is necessary to ensure age-appropriate appropriate development. Birthing facilities should employ strategies to ensure high rates of screening and re-screening (95%) during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also important for healthcare professionals to effectively communicate newborn hearing screening results with parents/caretakers upon discharge from the birthing facility and employ strategies to reduce loss to follow-up.

Supporting Screening

COVID-19’s impact on the medical system adds an additional layer of challenges for professionals needing to obtain screening, re-screening, or audiological assessments for their patients. See below for a few commonly asked questions.

I have an infant who needs screening, re-screening, or audiological assessment, but the audiology clinic is closed and/or there is a long waiting period for an appointment. What should I do?

  • For a list of providers in your community who can provide screening, re-screening, or diagnostic services, reach out to CDPHE Newborn Hearing Screening Coordinator, Leanne Glenn at leanne.glenn@state.co.us or 303-692-2603. 
  • The EHDI Pals directory is a search engine to find audiology facilities in your area with equipment and expertise to provide hearing screening and re-screening, as well as facilities with licensed audiologists who have the equipment and expertise to provide diagnostic and intervention services. 
  • A list of resources by birth hospital can be found in the Colorado Roadmap: http://www.cohandsandvoices.org/newsite/colorado-roadmap-info/. Note: Not all information for birthing facilities is currently available. 

I have an infant who needs a hearing screening or re-screening but I live in a rural area. What should I do?

  • The Colorado EHDI Program has created a network of educational audiologists who are able to provide this service. For more information: contact hannah.glick@colorado.edu 
  • For a list of providers in your community who can provide screening, re-screening, or diagnostic services, reach out to CDPHE Newborn Hearing Screening Coordinator, Leanne Glenn at leanne.glenn@state.co.us or 303-692-2603. 
  • The EHDI Pals directory is a search engine to find audiology facilities in your area with equipment and expertise to provide hearing screening and re-screening, as well as facilities with licensed audiologists who have the equipment and expertise to provide diagnostic and intervention services. 
  • A list of resources by birth hospital can be found in the Colorado Roadmap: http://www.cohandsandvoices.org/newsite/colorado-roadmap-info/. Note: Not all information for birthing facilities is currently available.