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Audiologic screening of seven- and ten-year-old children
Insights
Pure-tone audiometry is effective for screening children's hearing. While tympanometry can identify middle ear issues, its mass screening utility in 7- and 10-year-olds is questionable.
Area of Science:
- Audiology
- Pediatric Audiology
- Hearing Science
Background:
- Hearing loss and middle ear pathology are significant concerns in school-aged children.
- Early detection is crucial for effective intervention and management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of pure-tone audiometry and tympanometry in screening hearing in 7- and 10-year-old children.
- To determine the prevalence of sensorineural hearing loss and middle ear pathology in these age groups.
Main Methods:
- Audiologic screening of 1,062 ears in 7-year-olds and 1,175 ears in 10-year-olds.
- Utilized pure-tone audiometry and tympanometry for assessments.
Main Results:
- Identified new cases of sensorineural hearing loss in 0.3% of ears.
- Prevalence of protracted undiagnosed middle ear pathology was 2.5% in 7-year-olds and 0.5% in 10-year-olds.
- A middle ear pressure more negative than -250 mmH2O is proposed as a tympanometry fail criterion.
Conclusions:
- Pure-tone audiometry remains a valuable tool for hearing screening in children.
- The meaningfulness of mass tympanometric screening for 7- and 10-year-olds is uncertain.
- Further research may be needed to optimize screening protocols for middle ear conditions.
Abstract:
An audiologic screening of 1 062 ears In 7-year-old and 1 175 ears in 10-year-old children was carried out by means of pure-tone audiometry and tympanometry. New cases of sensorineural hearing loss were found in six ears (0.3%). The prevalence of protracted undiagnosed middle ear pathology was found to be 2.5 and 0.5%, in the younger vs. the older age group respectively. It is concluded that a middle ear pressure more negative than -250 mmH2O would be a suitable fail criterion for tympanometry. It is questionable, however, whether tympanometric mass screening of 7- and 10-year-olds is meaningful. It is felt that pure-tone audiometry maintains its position in the screening role.