Hearing loss is more common than any other condition screened for at birth. As many as 3 to 4 out of every 1,000 babies in the United States are born with some level of hearing loss. Based on that estimate, 33 to 44 babies are born with hearing loss in South Dakota each year. 1-3-6 guidelines were developed to give a babies the best time frame to be screened, diagnosed, and begin receving services so they are likely to to reach full potential speech, language, and social skills.
In 2015, the partnership between the University of South Dakota and the South Dakota Department of Health, known as the SD EHDI Collaborative, allowed the first HRSA grant to initiate quality improvement activities within the SD EHDI Program. The SD EHDI Collaborative works to improve early identification of hearing loss in children and promote early intervention services for children and their families across the state of South Dakota.
Before 1993, a hard of hearing child could have been identified as late as age 4 or 5 and fewer than 1 in 10 newborns in the U.S. were screened for hearing loss. Today nearly all newborns are screened. Since HRSA's Early Hearing Detection and Intervention program started, states and territories have had significant success identifying and getting services for newborns and infants with hearing loss. In 2018, national data from CDC data showed:
We continue to work toward our goals of screening all newborns, infants, and young children up to 3 years of age for hearing loss, increasing the number of newborns and infants that are enrolled into early intervention programs in a timely manner, and expanding family participation within the EHDI system.