During the AG Bell board of directors meeting in Washington, D.C., in July, a resolution was passed to honor Stephen Epstein, M.D., for his professional leadership to the field in varied capacities. As an ENT physician, Epstein provided a high level of treatment and compassion for the thousands of children and adults he cared for. He recently retired from his practice after more than four decades of professional service. Epstein also served as president of AG Bell from 1998-2000, and wrote the long-running Volta Voices column, Sound Advice.
He remains a tireless champion of early hearing detection and intervention (EHDI) for children and served for a number of decades on the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing (JCIH). During his tenure on JCIH, the committee released a series of position statements, including the 2000 position statement which called for all infants to have their hearing screened by 1 month of age, hearing loss diagnosis and amplification fitting by 3 months of age, and connection with early intervention services by 6 months of age. As a lifelong user of hearing aids himself, Epstein noted the importance of early hearing detection and quality services for children and their families.
In a recent visit to the AG Bell Volta Bureau to receive the board resolution and a signed print of the Volta Bureau in appreciation for his service, Epstein noted AG Bell’s long history in responding to the needs of parents. “There will always be the need for AG Bell to help parents connect with each other,” Epstein said, but noted that the technology parents are using to make those connections has changed over time.
