Exploring the categorisation of hearing loss across Australia's paediatric hearing health services
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Published on: March 24, 2023
Jing Wang1,2,3, Whitney Zi-Yang Qian1,3, Libby Smith1,3
1Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, VIC, Australia.
Objective:
To describe how childhood hearing loss is categorised across Australian hearing health services and assess whether existing categorisation systems can be harmonised into a single national framework to support consistent, equitable data collection and reporting.
Design:
A cross-sectional national survey collected responses from organisations providing universal newborn hearing screening, diagnostic audiology, hearing rehabilitation, and hearing implantation services. Categories and associated hearing-level thresholds were compared across jurisdictions, category systems and service types.
Study Sample:
Ninety-nine organisations providing 290 hearing health services to children (aged zero-18 years) in Australia completed the survey. Among these, 43 organisations reported hearing categories and 40 provided threshold ranges.
Results:
Most organisations used a six-category system. Common categories included Normal, Mild, Moderate, Severe, and Profound. Decibel Hearing Level (dB HL) thresholds were consistent for Normal (≤20dB HL), Mild (21-40dB HL), Severe (71-90dB HL), and Profound (≥91dB HL). In contrast, thresholds for Moderate, Moderately Severe, and Severe-to-Profound varied, with overlapping ranges across services.
Conclusions:
While many organisations used threshold ranges broadly aligned with recognised standards, variation in mid-range categories indicates the need for a unified national consensus to support consistent interpretation, service planning, and reporting, ultimately improving care and outcomes.
