How should conductive hearing loss be addressed relative to eligibility for the EIP?
EIP regulations (10 NYCRR ยง69-4.3(e)(5)) specify that a hearing impairment qualifying as a diagnosed condition with a high probability of resulting in developmental delay is a diagnosed hearing loss that cannot be corrected with treatment or surgery. Thus, for the purposes of this diagnostic category, only conductive hearing losses that are not amenable to resolution through medical or surgical means, are chronic in nature, and/or have an impact on other areas of development, particularly communication development (including speech/language development), constitute diagnosed conditions with a high probability of resulting in developmental delay for the purposes of eligibility in the EIP. Consistent with the regulatory language, an occasional or transient conductive hearing loss occurring in isolation, i.e., without concomitant delays in other developmental domains, would typically be managed through the child’s primary medical care provider, and would not be sufficient to establish a c
