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Neuro-rehabilitation Approach for Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss
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Neuro-rehabilitation Approach for Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Published on: January 25, 2016

Parents cannot detect mild hearing loss in children. First place--Resident Clinical Science Award 1998

R Brody1, R M Rosenfeld, A J Goldsmith

  • 1Department of Otolaryngology, State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn College Hospital, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA.

Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery : Official Journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
|December 2, 1999
PubMed

Insights

Parent surveys can reliably gauge perceptions of a child's hearing but do not accurately detect mild hearing loss from middle ear effusion (MEE). Abnormal static admittance, however, is a key indicator of hearing impairment in children.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Otolaryngology
  • Audiology
  • Child Health

Background:

  • Otitis media with effusion (MEE) is a common childhood illness frequently causing persistent middle ear effusions.
  • Identifying children with MEE-related hearing loss is crucial for timely intervention.
  • Current methods for assessing hearing loss in young children can be challenging.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop and validate a self-administered parent survey (HL-7) to identify children at high risk for mild hearing loss due to MEE.
  • To assess the reliability and validity of the HL-7 survey in a pediatric population.
  • To explore the relationship between parent-reported hearing, tympanometric measures, and objective hearing levels.

Main Methods:

  • A cohort of 115 children with MEE was evaluated.
  • Parents completed the 7-item HL-7 survey and a visual-analog scale assessing their child's hearing.
  • Objective audiological assessments included static admittance and gradient measurements.
  • HL-7 reliability and validity were compared against 4-frequency pure-tone average (PTA) hearing levels.

Main Results:

  • The HL-7 survey demonstrated good test-retest reliability and internal consistency.
  • Survey scores correlated well with parents' global hearing ratings but not with PTA hearing levels.
  • Abnormal static admittance (<0.2 cc) was significantly associated with a mean 7-dB hearing level decrease (P=0.02).
  • Tympanometric gradient did not correlate with PTA, but abnormal static admittance indicated a risk for hearing loss.

Conclusions:

  • The HL-7 survey is a reliable tool for measuring parental perception of hearing in children.
  • Parental perception, as measured by the HL-7, is not an accurate predictor of mild hearing loss in children with MEE.
  • Abnormal static admittance is a significant risk factor for hearing loss in children with middle ear effusion.

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