Pure-tone hearing thresholds in otologically healthy 5-year-old children in Finland

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Pediatric Health
• Public Health

Background:

• Normal hearing is essential for preschool children's development and learning.
• Establishing normative hearing data in pediatric populations is vital for identifying hearing impairments.
• Previous studies may not fully represent current urban preschooler hearing levels.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the pure-tone air and bone conduction hearing thresholds in a sample of Finnish preschool children.
• To establish normative hearing data for otologically normal urban preschool children.
• To provide a benchmark for future pediatric audiological assessments.

Main Methods:

• Pure-tone air and bone conduction hearing tests were conducted on 359 otologically normal preschool children (average age 5.2 years) in Finland.
• Children with verified middle ear pathology or abnormal impedance audiometry were excluded.
• Hearing thresholds were measured across various frequencies (0.125 kHz to 4 kHz).

Main Results:

• Mean air conduction thresholds ranged from 16.6 dB at 0.125 kHz to 6.6 dB at 2 kHz.
• Mean bone conduction thresholds ranged from 6.0 dB at 0.25 kHz to 0.7 dB at 4 kHz.
• The pure-tone average (0.5, 1, 2 kHz) for all ears was 7.6 dB, with 66%-75% of thresholds between 5-10 dB.

Conclusions:

• The study established normative hearing thresholds for Finnish urban preschool children.
• The findings indicate a high prevalence of normal hearing in this population.
• These results can aid in the early detection and management of hearing loss in children.