Missouri Hearing Screening Requirements for Newborns and School-Aged Children

The following information summarizes hearing screening programs for newborns and school-aged children.

This information has been collected by researching individual state statutes, regulations and policy documents, and by contacting each state. Please be advised that regulations and policy may change at any time, so always check with your state for the most up-to-date information.

Newborn Screening

Screening

Every infant born in this state shall be screened for hearing loss.

Intervention

All facilities or persons shall provide the parents or guardians of newborns who fail the hearing screening with educational materials that:

• Communicate the importance of obtaining further hearing screening or diagnostic audiological assessment to confirm or rule out hearing loss;
• Identify community resources available to provide rescreening and diagnostic audiological assessments; and
• Make reasonable efforts to assure that all newborns with a confirmed hearing loss are referred to the appropriate point of contact for the Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) system of early intervention services (First Steps) by six months of age (or within six months of discharge from an acute care facility for infants requiring continuous acute care following birth).

Standards/Protocols

The screening procedure shall include the use of at least one of the following physiological technologies:

• Automated or diagnostic auditory brainstem response (ABR);
• Otoacoustic emissions (OAE); or
• Other technologies approved by the department of health and senior services

Tracking/Reporting

Facilities shall report the screening results on all neeborns to the parents or guardian of the newborn, and the Department of Health and Senior Services.

School-Age Screening

Missouri laws/regulations do not require school-age hearing screenings, but the Department of Health and Senior Services has issued guidelines for school hearing screenings.

Resources

The information contained herein was collected and summarized annually. For detailed information on hearing screening requirements, visit these websites:

Newborn Screening Statute: Mo. Rev. Stat. §191-925

Newborn Screening Regulations: Mo. Code. Regs. Ann. tit. 19 §40-9 [PDF]

Guidelines for Hearing Screening [PDF]

Questions regarding this document? Call ASHA at 800-498-2071 and ask for the State Advocacy Team.