Medical management of childhood hearing loss.

Hearing loss in children is common. Advances in the identification of infectious diseases at birth or in utero, genetic testing, and diagnostic imaging now permit many infants and children to be identified and treated sooner. Treatment and rehabilitation should be instituted early so that the effects of hearing loss on communication are minimized and the child's social and academic skills maximized. CHL can usually be managed medically or surgically with subsequent return to normal or near normal hearing. Children with SNHL, and their future hearing will benefit from new antiviral agents, less antibiotics, ototoxic more focused chemotherapy, and possibly genetic therapy. Digital and programmable hearing aids, more accessible FM systems, cochlear implants, and bone-anchored hearing aids provide significant rehabilitation potential for children with even very significant hearing losses. Early identification and prevention, however, remain the best strategies to combat hearing loss in children.