December 18, 2003

Barkley clinic earns grant

With the help of a matching grant received by the University Sertoma Club, the UNL Barkley Memorial Speech-Language and Hearing Clinic has received funding to purchase a software upgrade for its Auditory Steady State Responses program.

This will enable clinic audiologists to obtain accurate testing using their current Auditory Brainstem Response unit in newborns, infants and toddlers, and determine whether a child can hear high or low frequencies. This will make it possible to fit the child with a hearing aid of the right configuration, which is not possible to do reliably without this software upgrade.

A new Nebraska state law mandated that by Dec. 1, 2003, birthing facilities must include a hearing screening test and parent education programs in their standard of care for newborns. When hearing loss is detected or suspected, new mandatory follow-up testing is required at a designated confirmatory facility, such as UNL's Barkley clinic.

The University Sertoma Club has awarded scholarships to Barkley Center graduate students and volunteers support the Sertoma hearing screening booth during the State Fair.

For more information, call Alicia Davis, Barkley Center lecturer, at 472-5476.