The Ontario Infant Hearing Program (IHP) is a province wide program of the Ministry of Children and Youth Services. It is designed to identify infants who are born deaf or hard of hearing or who are at risk of hearing loss in early childhood. The program provides parents of deaf or hard of hearing infants with the services needed to develop communication, language and auditory skills and to give them the best start in life.
The program is for children from birth to 6 years (Grade 1 entry) with a permanent hearing loss in Windsor, Essex, and Chatham-Kent.
The following services are provided:
- Universal Newborn Hearing Screening
- Re-screening of high-risk infants
- Audiological assessments and follow-up
- Prescription, fitting and verification of amplification (eg. Hearing Aids), if recommended
- Communication development