You are invited to a webinar sponsored by The National Association of School Nurses (NASN) in collaboration with The National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management (NCHAM), housed within the Institute for Disability Research, Policy & Practice at Utah State University:
Upcoming Webinar: Identifying Children with Hearing Loss: The Key Role of School Nurses in Evidence-Based Screening
When: October 9th, 2025 | 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm MT
Webinar Description:
Undetected hearing loss in school-aged children can impact academic and social functioning and have a lifelong impact on the student. The prevalence of hearing loss increases as children reach school age, highlighting the importance of regular, evidence-based hearing screening. This webinar will address why periodic hearing screening is critical, the barriers to screening that school nurses may face, the two evidence-based methods for childhood hearing screening, strategies for ensuring appropriate follow-up occurs, and available resources to support the implementation of evidence-based practices.
After participating in this webinar, participants will be able to describe:
- The increasing prevalence of permanent hearing loss throughout childhood.
- How determining the status of children’s hearing abilities relates to the overall academic and social functioning of children
- Current evidence-based practice recommendations for conducting hearing screening using pure tone audiometry and otoacoustic emissions (OAE) screening methods
- Recommended follow-up protocol for when children do not pass the hearing screening
- Strategies for garnering support and assistance in ensuring children receive the necessary follow-up
- How to find local audiologists for diagnostic and intervention services
- Available training and implementation resources in evidence-based practices
Presenters:
William Eiserman, Ph.D. is the Associate Director of the National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management at Utah State University. Dr. Eiserman has over 25 years of experience developing and leading the Early Childhood Hearing Outreach (ECHO) Initiative which focuses on implementing evidence-based hearing screening and follow-up practices for young children in a variety of educational and community-based settings.
Along with his ECHO Initiative colleagues, Dr. Eiserman has provided training and technical assistance to thousands of educators and healthcare providers across the country and in international settings, which has demonstrated the efficacy of early identification of hearing loss in pediatric populations.
Terry Foust, AuD, CCC-A/SLP is a pediatric audiologist and speech language pathologist who has been a key member of the ECHO Initiative team since its beginnings in 2001. Dr. Foust has provided intensive training and technical assistance to staff in early childhood programs in nearly every state, including Head Start, early intervention programs and community health centers. Dr. Foust has also provided technical assistance in a variety of international settings including in India, Ghana, Georgia and Kenya.
Cathy Yonkaitis, DNP, RN, NCSN, PHNA-BC, FNASN is a clinical associate professor in the Population Health Nursing Department at the University of Illinois Chicago. She has worked as a school nurse and school nurse educator for 20 years. In her current role as editor of the NASN School Nurse Journal and co-editor of the School Nursing Comprehensive Textbook (3rd & 4th editions) she works to support evidence-based school nursing practice.
You will receive a confirmation email with instructions for joining the webinar. This webinar will also be captioned, recorded, and posted on kidshearing.org. If you are unavailable at the time this webinar is being offered, please register anyway so that after the webinar, we can email you the link allowing you to view the recorded video at your convenience. Please feel free to share this webinar learning opportunity with your colleagues.
For more information about this webinar, contact us through our website kidshearing.org. For technical assistance during the webinar, please contact Gunnar Thurman.
