Presbyterian Ear Institute (PEI)

Presbyterian Ear Institute (PEI) exists to empower people with hearing loss to better listen, speak, and integrate into mainstream society, serving almost 500 people annually through a comprehensive approach to the early diagnosis, intervention, education and rehabilitation of deafness. Working daily to mitigate the lifelong effects that hearing loss has on literacy, educational achievement, and vocational opportunities, we provide a stimulating learning environment in which children can grow socially, emotionally, linguistically, and academically. Through research-driven strategies, PEI empowers children with hearing loss with the fundamental human right of communication to connect them with their families and communities. Founded by neurotologist Karl L. Horn, M.D., PEI is NM’s center of excellence for speech and hearing, with seven programs for deaf/hard-of-hearing (D/HH) individuals and children with speech-language delays: the Newborn Hearing Evaluation, Parent-Infant, Speech-Language, Audiology, Cochlear Implant, and Medical Programs, and the School for Oral Deaf Education (PEIOS). These programs serve families and patients statewide. PEI’s Newborn Hearing Evaluation Program uses auditory brainstem response (ABR) and follow-up testing to identify D/HH infants and provide access to auditory input/intervention essential for speech-language development. Our Parent-Infant Program (PIP) supports D/HH children ages 0-18 months through parent coaching, developmental information, direct therapy, and early intervention (EI) collaboration. PEI’s School encompasses the Toddler (ages 18-36 months), Preschool, and Pre-K Programs, where early childhood/oral deaf-education teachers provide evidence-based early learning and listening/spoken-language (LSL) instruction based on the Moog Curriculum and NM’s Early Learning Guidelines (ELGs). PEI students receive wrap-around support services. Recently added occupational therapy (OT) services reflect PEI’s focus on the whole child by supporting students’ fine/gross motor skills, visual perception, attention to tasks, and sensory processing. Children’s hearing levels and equipment are monitored through our Audiology Program, and our Speech-Language (SLP) Program provides one-on-one/small-group instruction for vocabulary, conversational language, syntax, auditory training, and speech and standardized testing and summer services. The Audiology and SLP Programs also serve adults and children from the larger community, generating billable service income and strengthening partnerships. Dr. Horn leads PEI’s Medical Program, providing adult/pediatric medical care for diseases affecting the inner ears, temporal bone, skull base, and related head/neck structures, and partnering with the Audiology Program. Through these comprehensive programs, PEI teaches D/HH children to listen and speak so that they can beat the statistics: 25% greater rates of abuse/neglect (RTI), average 2.8-4.5-grade reading levels, and 64% un/underemployment (NM Task Force Report). Intervening in pediatric hearing loss is urgent, so requiring a team of family members and professionals to make life-changing decisions in a child’s first few months/years of life. Because of this, PEI partners with parents/caregivers to teach strategies to carry over in the home/community. These kinds of programs increase health equity for NM’s D/HH children by empowering them with the lifelong independence and access–to their own families, self-advocacy, academic success, vocational choices–that listening/spoken language abilities provide.