Starts Hear Awareness Campaign Year One Results

PHILADELPHIA, July 7, 2022 – Hearing First—a nonprofit dedicated to supporting families of children with hearing loss and the professionals who work with them—is sharing the impact of the first year of the Starts Hear awareness campaign, which informs expectant parents about about the importance of the newborn hearing screening. 

Launched in February 2021, the Starts Hear awareness campaign has reached hundreds of thousands of expectant moms in its first year to inform them about the newborn hearing screening and empower them to take action in the event of a failed screening. 

Bright and optimistic in design, the Starts Hear campaign taps into parents’ hopes for their child’s future. By linking their dreams with the importance of newborn hearing, parents are encouraged to take swift action to get a follow-up hearing evaluation.

Campaign results highlights from the first year include: 

• 228.1 Million total ad views
• 24.7 Million views of 15-second campaign videos (over 20,395 hours of total watch time) 
• 1.3 Million reminder emails sent to moms about the newborn hearing screening and what to do if their baby failed 
• Expectant moms’ awareness of the urgency of newborn hearing increased 25% 

“To be effective in moving the needle and reducing delays in follow-up and diagnosis, we knew we needed to take a different approach. Starts Hear is based on research insights that came directly from discussions with expectant and new moms,” said Dr. Teresa Caraway, PhD, CCC-SLP, LSLS Cert. AVT, Hearing First CEO. “By reaching parents where they spend time, using a parent-centered design, and partnering with organizations with a commitment to early childhood development and/or hearing healthcare, this campaign benefits every baby with the potential to make a significant difference in the lives of children touched by hearing loss and their families.” 

The data from the first year of the campaign shows a positive impact with expectant parents understanding the importance of knowing their baby’s hearing status and what to do should their baby fail the newborn hearing screening. The Starts Hear campaign is now entering into its second year to continue to reach more expectant moms to raise awareness of the importance of hearing health. 

Learn more about the campaign and download the year one report at hearingfirst.org/starts-hear-awareness-campaign.