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Updated: Aug 30, 2026
Behavioral Assessment of Hearing in 2 to 4 Year-old Children: A Two-interval, Observer-based Procedure Using Conditioned Play-based Responses
Published on: January 23, 2017
[Hearing evaluation in children aged 3-6 years in day-care centers]
1Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto (FAMERP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Insights
A study found 9.7% of children aged 3-6 in São José do Rio Preto day-care centers have hearing impairments. These findings highlight the need for organized childhood deafness prevention programs.
Area of Science:
- Audiology
- Pediatric Health
- Public Health
Background:
- Hearing impairment in children can impact development and learning.
- Early identification and intervention are crucial for managing childhood deafness.
- Prevalence studies are essential for informing public health strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of deafness among preschool-aged children (3-6 years) attending day-care centers.
- To identify hearing dysfunctions in a specific urban population in Brazil.
- To provide data for the development of targeted hearing health initiatives.
Main Methods:
- Screening of 103 children aged 3-6 years in 8 day-care centers using free-field audiometry.
- Referral of children with abnormal screening results for conventional pure-tone audiometry.
- Classification of hearing loss severity based on World Health Organization (WHO) criteria.
Main Results:
- Audiometric dysfunctions were identified in 9.70% of the children screened.
- One child presented mild conductive hearing loss in the left ear.
- Nine children showed alterations in high-frequency hearing thresholds (4000-8000 Hz).
Conclusions:
- The identified prevalence of 9.7% for audiometric dysfunctions underscores a significant public health concern.
- The findings suggest a need for structured deafness prevention programs in early childhood settings.
- Early detection and management are vital for mitigating the long-term effects of hearing loss in children.
Abstract:
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of deafness in children 3-6 years old in day-care centers of São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil. METHODS: We used free-field audiometry to screen 103 children from 8-selected day-care centers. Children with abnormal examination results were referred to the speech therapy outpatient service to undergo pure-tone conventional audiometry. We adopted the WHO classification for degree of deafness. RESULTS: Audiometric dysfunctions were present in 10 children (9.70%; SD=0.96) with one boy showing left ear mild conductive hearing loss (mean LE=35 dB), while 9 children (8.73%; SD=2.78) showed alterations in air-conduction threshold in 4000, 6000 or 8000 sharp frequencies. Out of 102 children (99.03%; SD=0.96), 55 boys (53.39%; SD=4.9) and 47 girls (45.64%; SD=4.9) presented no hearing loss according to the WHO criteria. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of 9.7% audiometric dysfunctions found in this study indicates that deafness prevention programs should be organized.
