2013 Maryland Code
HEALTH - GENERAL
§ 13-601 - Definitions

§13-601.

(a) In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated.

(b) “Hearing-impaired infant” means an infant who has an impairment that is a dysfunction of the auditory system of any type or degree which is sufficient to interfere with the acquisition and development of speech and language skills with or without the use of sound amplification.

(c) “Infant” means a child who is under the age of 1 year.

(d) “Newborn” means a child up to 29 days old who is born in or receives care in a hospital in the State.

(e) “Program” means the program that the Secretary establishes to provide for the universal hearing screening of newborns and early identification and follow-up of hearing-impaired infants and infants who have a risk factor of developing a hearing impairment.

(f) “Risk factor” includes any of the following factors that an infant may display and are considered relevant in determining the possibility of a hearing impairment:

(1) An admission for more than 48 hours to a neonatal intensive care nursery;

(2) An anatomical malformation that involves the head or neck, including:

(i) A dysmorphic appearance;

(ii) A morphologic abnormality of the pinna;

(iii) An overt or submucous cleft palate; and

(iv) Any syndromal or nonsyndromal abnormality;

(3) A severe asphyxia, including:

(i) An infant with an Apgar score of 0-3 who fails to institute spontaneous respiration within 10 minutes; or

(ii) An infant with hypotonia that persists during the 1st 2 hours of the infant’s life;

(4) A bacterial meningitis, especially H. influenza;

(5) A birth weight of less than 1500 grams;

(6) A congenital perinatal infection, including cytomegalovirus, herpes, rubella, syphilis, and toxoplasmosis;

(7) A family history of a childhood hearing impairment; and

(8) A hyperbilirubinemia at a level that exceeds indications for exchange transfusion.