Parental suspicion and identification of hearing impairment.

Abstract

The contribution of parental suspicion in the original identification of a 16 year cohort of 171 children with varying degrees of hearing impairment who were screened and identified in childhood was studied. Only a quarter of the children with permanent hearing loss were identified as a result of parental concern. The presence of parental suspicion preceding the audiological diagnosis was also measured. Of the children with severe or profound deafness, the parents only suspected the presence of hearing loss in 44%. Parental suspicion was even lower for those with a mild or moderate permanent hearing loss, and for those with an otherwise symptomless conductive hearing loss caused by otitis media with effusion. Some parents did identify hearing impairment in their children, and parental suspicion should never be professionaily disregarded. Most parents, however, experienced initial difficulty in recognising their children's hearing loss, even when the children were comparatively old. The study confirms the need to continue to identify deafness early by both parental vigilance and sensitive hearing screening programmes.

Newborn hearing screening in a South African private health care hospital

“…Four infants presented with bilateral and two with unilateral hearing loss. The proportion of unilateral to bilateral losses identified in the current study is similar to those previously reported from developing countries approximating one in every three to four [29] and [30]. The estimated prevalence of sensorineural hearing loss extrapolated from the number of infants returning for the rescreen and who were assessed at the hospital amounts to 3 in every 1000.…”

Assessment of deafmute patients: a study of ten years

“…Prevalence was higher in Jamaican children (4.9%) [7], Tanzania and South Africa (8.9 to 11.9%) [8], Saudi Arabia (13%), Australia (16/1000) [9]. The incidence per thousand live birth was 1/1000 in USA to 2 to 3.5 in Europe [10][11][12]. In India according to 1981 census, 3 lacs deafmute children were there and two deaf babies are born per hour.…”

Hearing Assessment in Infants and Children: Recommendations Beyond Neonatal Screening

“…Parental concern is of greater predictive value than the informal behavioral examination performed in the physician's office. 10 Parents often report suspicion of hearing loss, inattention, or erratic response to sound before hearing loss is confirmed. 11 One study showed that parents were as much as 12 months ahead of physicians in identifying their child's hearing loss.…”

“…Children with hearing loss should also be monitored for developmental and behavioral problems (attentiondeficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism, learning disabilities) and referred for Should correctly localize to sound presented in a horizontal plane, begin to imitate sounds in own speech repertoire or at least reciprocally vocalize with an adult [7][8][9][10][11][12] Should correctly localize to sound presented in any plane, should respond to name, even when spoken quietly [13][14][15] Should point toward an unexpected sound or to familiar objects or persons when asked [16][17][18] Should follow simple directions without gesture or other visual cues; can be trained to reach toward an interesting toy at midline when a sound is presented [19][20][21][22][23][24] Should point to body parts when asked; by 21 mo, can be trained to perform play audiometry additional evaluation when necessary. Health care professionals can use screening tools to evaluate young children periodically for such concerns (Table 7) and refer for additional evaluation when concerns arise.…”