Filling gap to treat hearing loss early

When Nancy Villatoro's daughter, Amy, was born in August 2006, the hospital was able to tell her right away that Amy had a hearing problem.

What they were not able to tell her, though, was exactly what to do about it.

Hearing loss is the most common birth defect in the United States, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, affecting three of every 1,000 newborns.

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Villatoro's insurance did not cover the necessary follow-up testing and treatment, and she was lost in the maze of local hospitals and doctors who dealt with infant hearing loss.

"It was a mess," Villatoro said. "There were always more delays, and I just wanted to find out what was going on with my daughter."

It wasn't until February, through the state Department of Human Services' early-intervention program for children with disabilities, that Villatoro learned about Easter Seals' audiology program for children with hearing loss.

Easter Seals, a nationwide organization that offers rehabilitation for children with a range of disabilities, provides full audiology services at its DuPage and Fox Valley centers in Elgin, Villa Park and Naperville.

Last month, they received $22,490 in grants to buy new state-of-the-art testing equipment. The equipment shows audiologists a visual representation of exactly what the infant hears, and allows them to provide digital hearing aids suited to each child's particular hearing problems.

Unlike many providers, Easter Seals accepts pediatric patients whether they have public insurance, private insurance or have to work out a payment plan.

"Some large hospitals in the area might screen infants for hearing loss," said audiology manager Karyn Voels Malesevic, "but then the family has to find another provider to actually fit hearing aids, because the hospital won't fit hearing aids to Medicaid patients anymore."

The program has served as a leg up for children like Amy, who risk developmental delays if hearing loss is not detected early.

"Children can't tell you if things don't sound right," Malesevic said. "Without infant testing, we'd be testing 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds who already had delays, and then you're already playing catch-up."

Even a short delay in diagnosis and treatment of infant hearing problems can have lasting effects, including difficulty with speech and language.

With early diagnosis and fitting with an appropriate hearing aid, children like Amy can have normal speech and language development by the time they start school.

"Some of our kids do so well that family members ask why they even need hearing aids," Malesevic said. "We have to explain that the hearing treatment is the reason they're doing so well."