The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) conducts a survey every two years of individual schools to determine the status of required hearing and vision surveys. ODH uses data from this survey in three ways:

1. To determine compliance with screening requirements

2. To plan statewide vision and hearing screening trainings, and

3. To assist ODH in planning its Maternal and Child Health Block Grant objectives.

All state chartered public and private schools are surveyed. ODH randomly selects every sixth school building in the Ohio Educational Directory every two years. The results are then entered into a database and analyzed.

Here is a summary of some of the findings for the 1996-1997 school year.

• Total projected number of children screened for hearing in Ohio during the 2000-2001 school year: 790,248.

• Total projected number of children screened for vision in Ohio during the 2000-2001 school year: 913,878.

• Medical/nursing services are provided in 94% of Ohio schools.

• Vision screening is provided in 92% of schools that offer health services.

• The referral rate for vision screening is 10%.

• Compliance with vision screening is highest in kindergarten and third grade.

• Approximately 11,000 preschoolers, in school based programs, are screened for hearing problems.

• Of the schools providing hearing screening, 88% use the correct criteria of 20 dB at 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz, but may also screen at other frequencies and intensities.

• Nurses and speech language pathologists provide 80% of the hearing screenings in schools.

• Programs addressing noise-related hearing loss are found in only 31% of schools.

• Pure tone audiometers are used in 90% of Ohio’s schools.

• The referral rate for hearing is 3%.

                                               Hearing/Vision Screening for Children Program  / Links