2026 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 15-17, 2026 • Jacksonville, FL
3/10/2025 | 3:10 PM - 3:40 PM | A Closer Look at the Prevalence of Late Identified Hearing Loss | 317/318
A Closer Look at the Prevalence of Late Identified Hearing Loss
Following the 2022 Annual EHDI Conference, the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing (JCIH) assembled a workgroup of EHDI leaders, led by Karen Munoz and Dylan Chan, to discuss late identified hearing loss and the issues and barriers that result in late identification. More specifically, 1.) what does existing research tell us about the prevalence of permanent hearing loss for children not identified from newborn hearing screening (NHS) and, 2.) How can we leverage the answers in new efforts to expand and enhance EHDI systems? These questions ultimately led to the August 2024 publication of “A Systematic Review of the Prevalence of Late Identified Hearing Loss in Childhood,” in the International Journal of Audiology.
During this panel presentation with several members of the JCIH workgroup (including Karen Munoz, Karl R. White, Diana Ortiz, Donald M. Goldberg, Patricia Burk, and others), EHDI-parent moderator Valerie James Abbott will explore:
The risk factors and circumstances commonly associated with late identification
The social/cultural/developmental impacts of late identification
The importance of additional research with more consistent methods and more frequent systemic investigations that can better inform the ongoing development of early childhood hearing health monitoring protocols.
- Participants will be able to identify the risk factors and circumstances commonly associated with late identification
- Participants will be able to describe the social/cultural/developmental impacts of late identification
- Participants will be able to examine the importance of additional research with more consistent methods and more frequent systemic investigations that can better inform the ongoing development of early childhood hearing health monitoring protocols.
Presentation:
3545975_18271ValerieAbbott.pdf
Handouts:
3545975_18271ValerieAbbott.pptx
Transcripts:
CART transcripts are NOT YET available, but will be posted shortly after the conference
Presenters/Authors
Karl White
(Co-Presenter), Utah State University, karl.white@usu.edu;
Dr. White is a Professor of Psychology, the Emma Eccles Jones Endowed Chair in Early Childhood Education, and the founding Director of the National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management. He has been the PI or Co-PI for over $50 million of competitively awarded research. His work has been recognized with awards from such diverse organizations as the Deafness Research Foundation, the American Association for Speech Language and Hearing, The Swedish Society of Medicine, and the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf. He has hundreds of publications and presentations at scholarly meetings, and has been an invited speaker to more than 35 countries. He also serves on many national and international advisory groups for organizations such as the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the World Health Organization, the Institute of Medicine, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
Donald Goldberg
(Co-Presenter), College of Wooster/CCF, dgoldberg@wooster.edu;
Donald M. Goldberg, Ph.D., CCC-SLP/A, LSLS Cert. AVT, is a Full Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the College of Wooster (Oho) and a member of the Professional Staff for the Hearing Implant Program (HIP) at the Cleveland Clinic’s Head and Neck Institute. Goldberg was a Visiting Scholar at the University of Newcastle’s Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children (RIDBC) in North Rocks/Sydney Australia from December 2014 through February 2015.
Dr. Goldberg earned his Ph.D. at the University of Florida (UF) in 1985; Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from UF in 1979; and his Bachelor’s degree in Biology/Education from Lafayette College in Easton, PA (1977). He has been a university/college professor, the co-director of one of the largest cochlear implant centers in the United States, and is the former Executive Director of the Helen Beebe Speech and Hearing Center, Easton, Pennsylvania.
The co-author of
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
Valerie Abbott
(Primary Presenter,Co-Presenter), Padapillo PBLLC, valeriejamesabbott@gmail.com;
Valerie James Abbott is a parent-advocate, an award-winning author, and an EHDI-champion who has served as past-chair of the Virginia EHDI Advisory Committee. She works for the Infant and Toddler Connection in Richmond, VA - supporting the needs of families of children with developmental delays and disabilities. She has served on the board of Virginia Hands & Voices and is co-founder of the National Late Onset Hearing Loss Awareness Campaign. Valerie has published several articles online and in print about raising a child with a disability that have gained nationwide attention. Her children’s book Padapillo received a Moonbeam Children’s Book Award and is based on the true story of how her family discovered and came to terms with their daughter's late onset hearing loss.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.