Within this cohort study in the Netherlands, 7.8% of the children ages 9 to 11 years had low-frequency or high-frequency HL of at least 16 dB HL in 1 or both ears. A history of recurrent acute otitis media and lower maternal education seem to be independent risk factors for presumed SNHL in early childhood.

The prevalence of increased hearing levels (>15 dB HL) was 9.6%, and high-frequency hearing loss was found in 9.3%. The average hearing thresholds were 4.79 dB HL at low frequencies (0.5, 1, and 2 kHz) and 9.54 dB HL at high frequencies (3, 4, and 6 kHz). Most studies reported no significant association between pure-tone air thresholds and exposure to loud music. However, significant changes in hearing thresholds and otoacoustic emissions, and a high tinnitus prevalence suggest an association between music exposure and hearing loss in children.

Childhood hearing loss is prevalent and has risen since 1990. Future research should investigate the causes, course and impact of these changes.

IMPORTANCE Children with severe hearing loss are known to have more behavioral problems and may perform worse at school than children without. Few large-scale studies of slight to mild hearing loss are available.OBJECTIVE To examine the relevance of slight to mild hearing loss by studying its association with behavioral problems and school performance. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This cross-sectional study was performed within an ongoing prospective birth cohort study in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Participants were part of a population-based sample of children. Between ages 9 and 11 years, 5355 children underwent audiometric and behavioral evaluations. Children were excluded if they had missing data for either audiometry or both outcomes. Data were collected from April 2012 through October 2015. Data were analyzed from March to June 2018. EXPOSURES Audiometric evaluation included pure-tone audiometry tests and speech-in-noise testing.MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Child behavior was rated by the primary caregiver using the Child Behavior Checklist at ages 9 to 11 years (n = 4471). School performance was measured with a standardized test at age 12 years (n = 2399). RESULTSThe final sample included 4779 participants who were a mean (SD) age of 9.8 (0.3) years. The sample had nearly equal distribution between boys (n = 2200; 49.2%) and girls (n = 2271; 50.8%). Associations of hearing thresholds with behavioral problems differed between boys and girls. Among boys, higher pure-tone hearing thresholds at low frequencies were associated with higher total problem, social problem, and attention problem scores (total problems for the better-hearing ear: β = 0.01; 95% CI, 0-0.02). Higher speech reception thresholds were associated with higher attention problem scores among girls (β = 0.04; 95% CI, 0-0.08). Higher speech reception thresholds were associated with poorer school performance scores for both boys and girls (β = −0.06; 95% CI, −0.10 to −0.02). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCEHigher hearing thresholds during pure-tone audiometric and speech-in-noise testing were associated with higher behavioral problem scores and poorer school performance. This supports the relevance of slight to mild hearing loss with these outcomes in school-aged children.

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https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.5150116.

Objectives To identify possibly distinct acute otitis media (AOM) trajectories in childhood and identify determinants associated with specific AOM trajectories. To explore which child will become prone to recurrent AOM episodes and which will not. Design Population‐based prospective cohort study among 7863 children from birth until 10 years and their mothers. Methods This study was embedded in the Generation R Study: a population‐based prospective cohort study. Data on AOM and determinants were collected by repeated parental questionnaires. Distinct AOM trajectories within the population were identified with latent‐class analyses. Next, using multivariate analysis we checked whether specific determinants were associated with specific trajectories. Results Three distinct trajectories were identified; that is, non–otitis prone, early AOM—that is children who suffered AOM episodes until 3 years of age but not beyond, and persistent AOM—that is children who remained otitis‐prone. Male gender (OR: 1.26, CI: 1.11‐1.43) and day‐care attendance (OR: 1.31, CI: 1.06‐1.60) were associated with increased odds of early AOM. Breastfeeding was beneficial for children in both the early‐AOM and persistent‐AOM trajectories (OR: 0.78 and 0.77, respectively). Birth in the summer or autumn as compared with birth in the spring decreased odds of AOM only in the persistent‐AOM trajectory. Half of all AOM‐prone children recovered after the age of 3 years. Conclusion Specific determinants are associated with different AOM trajectories. Future research is needed to better predict which child will remain otitis‐prone and which recovers after the age of 3 years to better tailor treatment towards the needs of the individual child.

Background Listening to music through personal listening devices (PLDs) has become more prevalent during last decades. The aim of this study was to evaluate music listening habits through PLDs in adolescents with a smartphone application, and to assess the accuracy of self-reported listening habits. Methods This study was embedded in the Generation R Study, a population-based prospective birth cohort in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. A smartphone application for Android operating systems was developed to objectively monitor music listening habits for a period of 35 days. A postal questionnaire was used to subjectively assess listening habits. The level of agreement between the objectively measured and self-reported listening habits were evaluated using weighted kappa coefficients. Data were collected from May 2017 to March 2019. Results A total of 311 adolescents aged 12 to 15 years were included, of whom 237 (76.2%) completed the postal questionnaire. The results of the smartphone application showed that the median listening frequency was 2.1 days a week (IQR 1.0–3.4), the median listening time 21.1 min a day (IQR 9.1–53.7), and the mean listening level 54.5% (SD 18.1%). There was a slight to fair agreement between the objectively measured, and self-reported listening habits according to the weighted kappa coefficients (k = 0.179 to 0.364). Conclusions The results of the current study suggest that self-reported measures of listening habits are not always accurate. We consider a smartphone application to monitor listening habits of added value in future research investigating the possible damaging effects of PLDs on hearing acuity. Graphical abstract