Language Disorders in Children with Unilateral Hearing Loss: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Introduction Childhood is a critical period for language development and maturation of the central auditory system. Unilateral hearing loss (UHL) is considered a minimal impairment, and little is discussed regarding its impact on the development of language, communication, and school performance. Objectives A bibliographical survey of scientific articles published from 2001 to 2011 was performed to verify which language disorders can occur in children with UHL and which tests were performed to identify them. Data Synthesis Three databases were used: PubMed, Lilacs, and The Cochrane Library. As inclusion criteria, the articles should have samples of children with UHL, without other impairments, aged between 3 months and 12 years, and reference to language tests applied in this population. Out of 236 papers initially selected, only 5 met the inclusion criteria. In the articles studied, 12 tests were used for language assessment in children with UHL, out of which 9 were directed toward expressive language, and 3 toward receptive language. Children with UHL demonstrated lower scores on receptive and expressive language tests when compared with children with normal hearing. However, they obtained better scores on expressive language tests than children with bilateral hearing loss. Conclusion The findings of this survey showed that only a small number of studies used language tests in children with UHL or addressed language alterations resulting from this type of impairment. Therefore we emphasize the importance of investments in new studies on this subject to provide better explanations related to language difficulties presented by children with UHL.

Perda auditiva unilateral em crianças: avaliação fonológica e do vocabulário

“…There is little scientific evidence about the consequences of unilateral hearing loss (UHL) for children's oral language and learning development (1) . In UHL, the individual presents one ear with normal function and the other with hearing deficit of any degree, type and configuration.…”

Beginner´s Intelligibility Test (BIT): tradução, adaptação cultural para o português brasileiro e validação

“…O acesso à informação linguística é necessário para uma criança desenvolver as representações fonológicas que compõe as raízes da produção de fala (AMBROSE et al, 2014). Em estudos publicados, até mesmo a DA unilateral pode afetar negativamente o desenvolvimento da linguagem em crianças, quando comparada aos seus pares com audição normal (JOSE et al, 2014;LIEU et al, 2010). Tais crianças também apresentam uma produção desordenada de consoantes e vogais, alterações na respiração, ressonância e produção das características suprassegmentais da fala (SCHOW; NERBONNE, 2013b; VAN LIERDE et al, 2005b).…”

Towards Optical Cochlear Implants: Behavioral and Physiological Responses to Optogenetic Activation of the Auditory Nerve

“…Consequences of hearing loss are diverse and severe: During early childhood, and especially during critical windows of development, the auditory system relies on sensory input in order to establish, mature and maintain the sense of audition (Kral, 2013). Furthermore, the acquisition of vocal speech strongly depends on the auditory system (José et al, 2014). During adulthood, hearing impairments can cause decreased professional capabilities, risk for diseases such as depression, and decreased quality of life in general (Husain et al, 2014;Zinchenko et al, 2018).…”