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Behavioral Assessment of Hearing in 2 to 4 Year-old Children: A Two-interval, Observer-based Procedure Using Conditioned Play-based Responses
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Risk factors for hearing loss from meningitis in children: the Children's Hospital experience

A L Woolley1, K A Kirk, A M Neumann

  • 1Department of Surgery, Children's Hospital, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 35233, USA.

Archives of Otolaryngology--Head & Neck Surgery
|May 18, 1999
PubMed

Insights

Meningitis can cause hearing loss in 13.7% of children, with some cases being progressive. Key risk factors for hearing loss include increased intracranial pressure and male sex.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Neurology
  • Audiology
  • Infectious Diseases

Background:

  • Meningitis is a serious infection that can lead to severe complications in children.
  • Hearing loss is a known, but not fully understood, sequela of pediatric meningitis.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify significant risk factors for hearing loss in children with meningitis.
  • To determine the incidence of hearing loss post-meningitis.
  • To quantify the rate of progressive or fluctuating hearing loss.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective analysis of 432 children diagnosed with meningitis between 1985 and 1995.
  • Utilized multiple logistic regression modeling to identify risk factors.
  • Examined variables including CT scan findings, CSF glucose, and clinical signs.

Main Results:

  • Hearing loss developed in 13.7% (59/432) of children with meningitis.
  • Of those with hearing loss, 78% had stable sensorineural hearing loss, while 22% experienced progressive or fluctuating loss.
  • Significant predictors for hearing loss included increased intracranial pressure (OR=2.3), male sex (OR=1.9), low CSF glucose (OR=0.58), Streptococcus pneumoniae (OR=2.1), and nuchal rigidity (OR=1.9).

Conclusions:

  • Hearing loss is a significant complication of pediatric meningitis, affecting 13.7% of cases.
  • Progressive or fluctuating hearing loss occurred in 22% of affected children.
  • Increased intracranial pressure, male sex, low CSF glucose, S. pneumoniae infection, and nuchal rigidity are key predictors of hearing loss in children with meningitis.
Abstract

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