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Updated: Aug 17, 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
Incorporation of parental suspicions in screening infants' hearing
Insights
Health visitors asking parents about child hearing led to more referrals for hearing impairments in infants. This proactive approach identified more deaf children needing early intervention.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Audiology
Background:
- Early identification of hearing impairment in infants is crucial for developmental outcomes.
- Routine screening methods may miss some cases of childhood hearing loss.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of direct parental questioning by health visitors on the detection of hearing impairments in children under one year of age.
Main Methods:
- Health visitors in specific districts actively queried parents about concerns regarding their child's hearing.
- Referral and diagnosis data for infants with suspected hearing impairments were collected and analyzed.
Main Results:
- An abrupt increase in referrals for suspected hearing impairments was observed in the intervention districts.
- The number of infants confirmed with hearing impairment or requiring surveillance also significantly increased.
Conclusions:
- Proactive parental inquiry by health visitors effectively enhanced the identification and referral of infants with hearing impairments.
- This strategy proved beneficial in increasing the detection rate of deaf and other children with developmental concerns.
Abstract:
In 1978, in the course of a trial, health visitors in the North and South Nottingham Health Districts asked parents on two occasions 'Do you think your child is hearing normally?'. In that and the following year there was an abrupt increase in referrals of children under one year of age suspected of hearing impairments, which was not observed in the other Health Districts of the Nottinghamshire AHA. There was also an increase in the number of children under one year who were confirmed as having impaired hearing or needing surveillance. It is concluded that the active questioning by health visitors beneficially increased the number of referrals of deaf and other problem children.
