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Preschool hearing screening: evaluation of a parental questionnaire
P D Hammond1, M S Gold, N R Wigg
1Child Health Research Institute, Women's and Children's Hospital, North Adelaide, SA, Australia.
Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health
|March 4, 1998
Summary
A hearing screening questionnaire for preschool children proved ineffective in identifying persistent hearing impairment. The study found the questionnaire had low sensitivity and specificity, failing to reliably detect hearing loss in young children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Audiology
- Child Health Screening
- Hearing Impairment Detection
Background:
- Persistent hearing impairment in preschool children can impact development.
- Early detection is crucial for timely intervention.
- Parental questionnaires are sometimes used as a preliminary screening tool.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the diagnostic accuracy of a parental questionnaire for identifying persistent hearing impairment in preschool-aged children.
- To compare questionnaire results with objective audiometry findings.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 685 children aged 4-5 years in Adelaide, Australia, participated.
- Parents completed a hearing impairment concern questionnaire.
- Children underwent screening audiometry, with follow-up for those who failed.
Main Results:
- The questionnaire identified parental concerns in 50% of children.
- The questionnaire demonstrated low sensitivity (56%) and specificity (52%) compared to audiometry.
- Neither individual questions nor the number of concerns correlated with audiometry results.
Conclusions:
- The parental hearing questionnaire is an ineffective screening tool for persistent hearing loss in preschool children.
- The findings suggest this questionnaire, used in Australian states, should be re-evaluated for its utility in hearing screening.