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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
Published on: January 23, 2017
[Hearing loss in infancy. Who first suspects it? A descriptive analysis?]
1Abt. Phoniatrie und Pädaudiologie der Georg-August-Universität Göttingen. ckiese@med.uni-goettingen.de
Insights
Parents frequently detect childhood hearing impairment (HI) before professionals do. Early parental suspicion is crucial for timely diagnosis and intervention, especially for sensorineural hearing loss.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Audiology
- Developmental Pediatrics
Background:
- Childhood hearing impairment (HI) diagnosis relies on timely detection.
- Assessing the sensitivity of suspicion for identifying HI in children is critical.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the sensitivity of suspicion leading to the diagnosis of childhood hearing impairment (HI).
- To evaluate the age and initiators of suspicion for congenital or early-onset HI.
Main Methods:
- Questionnaires administered to parents of children with confirmed HI.
- Data collected from 185 parents regarding children aged 1 to 120 months.
- Evaluation of who first suspected HI: parents versus healthcare professionals.
Main Results:
- Parents were the first to suspect HI in 46% of cases, significantly more often than professionals.
- Parental suspicion was higher for sensorineural HI (52%) compared to conductive HI (20%).
- Significant delays were observed: an average of 13.2 months from parental suspicion to diagnosis of bilateral sensorineural HI, with late hearing aid fitting.
Conclusions:
- Parental observation is a valuable component of early HI detection strategies.
- Findings support integrating parental awareness into HI screening protocols pending universal newborn hearing screening implementation.
Background:
The aim of this study was to analyze the sensitivity of suspicion preceding the diagnosis of a child's hearing impairment (HI).
Methods:
Parents of children with confirmed HI were questioned in order to evaluate the age and the initiators of the suspicion of congenital or early HI. A total of 185/199 parents provided information on their children aged from 1 to 120 months.
Results:
Parents showed more frequent correct suspicion/detection of HI than professionals. In 46% of all cases, the parents were the first to suspect HI (in 20% of all children with conductive losses and 52% of all sensorineural HIs). The first suspicion was raised by pediatricians in 25%, by otorhinolaryngologists and by school entrance examination each with 7%, and by obstetricians in 6% of cases. There was an average delay of 13.2 months from parental suspicion to a valid diagnosis of bilateral sensorineural HI (mean diagnosis age 50.9 months+/-30.3SD). Individual hearing aids were accordingly fitted late (mean aiding age 51.5 months+/-30.7).
Conclusions:
These findings support the use of parental observation as part of the early detection of HI until universal newborn hearing screening can be implemented.
