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High-frequency sensorineural hearing loss in children

Kaalan Johnson1, Meredith Tabangin2, Jareen Meinzen-Derr2,3

  • 1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Washington School of Medicine and Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.

The Laryngoscope
|August 13, 2015
PubMed

Insights

High-frequency sensorineural hearing loss (HFSNHL) affects 7.6% of pediatric patients. Genetic testing is recommended as the initial diagnostic step due to its cost-effectiveness compared to imaging.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Audiology
  • Genetics in Hearing Loss
  • Diagnostic Algorithms

Background:

  • Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is a common condition in children.
  • High-frequency sensorineural hearing loss (HFSNHL) presents unique diagnostic challenges.
  • Understanding the prevalence and characteristics of HFSNHL is crucial for early intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the prevalence of HFSNHL in a pediatric hearing loss population.
  • To establish a diagnostic algorithm for identifying and managing HFSNHL.
  • To compare the diagnostic yield of genetic testing versus imaging in SNHL patients.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective case series of 2,867 patients diagnosed with SNHL from 1981 to 2010.
  • Patients were categorized into flat SNHL and HFSNHL based on audiometric profiles.
  • Data on imaging, genetic testing, age at diagnosis, laterality, and risk factors were collected and compared.

Main Results:

  • HFSNHL was identified in 7.6% of the study population.
  • HFSNHL patients were diagnosed at a significantly older age (8.3 vs. 6.1 years) and had a higher proportion of unilateral loss.
  • Genetic testing and imaging showed similar diagnostic utility, but imaging yielded higher results in flat SNHL cases.

Conclusions:

  • Genetic testing offers comparable positive predictive value to imaging for SNHL diagnosis.
  • Genetic testing is recommended as the initial diagnostic approach due to cost-effectiveness.
  • Further research is needed to evaluate the benefit of multigene diagnostic platforms for pediatric HFSNHL.
Abstract

Keywords:
High frequencysensorineural hearing loss

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