Who first suspects a hearing loss in infancy and childhood?

Abstract

Background. The aim of this study was to analyze the sensitivity of suspicion preceding the diagnosis of a child's hearing impairment (HI). Methods. Parents of children with confirmed HI were questioned in order to evaluate the age and the initiators of the suspicion of congenital or early HI. A total of 185/199 parents provided information on their children aged from 1 to 120 months. Results. Parents showed more frequent correct suspicion/detection of HI than professionals. In 46% of all cases, the parents were the first to suspect HI (in 20% of all children with conductive losses and 52% of all sensorineural His). The first suspicion was raised by pediatricians in 25%, by otorhinolaryngologists and by school entrance examination each with 7%, and by obstetricians in 6% of cases. There was an average delay of 13.2 months from parental suspicion to a valid diagnosis of bilateral sensorineural HI (mean diagnosis age 50.9 months +/- 30.3SD). Individual hearing aids were accordingly fitted late (mean aiding age 51.5 months +/- 30.7). Conclusions. These findings support the use of parental observation as part of the early detection of HI until universal newborn hearing screening can be implemented.