A child who is hard of hearing speaking the same passage at 3 and 7 years of age. Notice how much clearer her speech becomes due to consistent use of hearing aids.
The OCHL study was funded in 2008 by the NIH-NIDCD. The principal investigators, Mary Pat Moeller, PhD, and J. Bruce Tomblin, PhD, recruited a multi-disciplinary team of professionals from the University of Iowa, Boys Town National Research Hospital, and the University of North Carolina in the fields of audiology, speech-language, psychology, linguistics, and biostatistics to help support the project. The OCHL study focused on examining the impact of newborn hearing screening, early intervention, and advances in hearing technology on a wide range of developmental outcomes for children who are hard of hearing. This work has been a huge success, thanks to all involved, and our published findings will continue to be posted on the Publications page.
Age-appropriate test batteries were developed for each age range from 6 months to 9 years. Domains of measures included: