OBJECTIVES: The present study sought to determine the average ages of suspicion, diagnosis, and amplification of profound hearing loss and intervention in deaf children and to compare at-risk and not-at-risk children based on the studied ages. METHODS: This study was conducted on 86 children under 6 years of age with profound bilateral hearing loss in Newsha Aural Rehabilitation Center in Tehran from July to December 2005. Data were gathered through the completion of a questionnaire by the children's parents, and the children's medical and rehabilitative records were utilized in order to determine the kind and degree of hearing loss. RESULTS: The mean ages of suspicion, diagnosis, amplification, and intervention were 12.6+/-8.9, 15.2+/-9.3, 20.5+/-11.1, and 22.3+/-11.6 months, respectively; there being statistically significant differences between them. 47.7% of the children were in the high-risk group, and statistically there were no significant differences between the at-risk and not-at-risk children in the studied ages. Of all the neonatal diseases investigated, hyperbilirubinemia was the most frequent (40.7%), and there were also four cases of meningitis and six cases of measles. In terms of consanguinity, mating of first cousins was 41.9% and mating of second cousins and farther familial relationships was 14%. After suspecting hearing loss in their children, the parents had visited physicians (57%), audiologists (37.2%), speech therapists (2.3%), or other specialists (3.5%) for the first time. The economic circumstances of the families had a significant bearing on the average ages of suspicion, diagnosis, amplification, and intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the remarkable improvement in the average ages of suspicion, diagnosis, amplification, and intervention in comparison with those reported in a previous study carried out in Iran (2002), there is still noticeable difference between these ages and those suggested by the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing.
OBJECTIVES: The present study sought to determine the average ages of suspicion, diagnosis, and amplification of profound hearing loss and intervention in deaf children and to compare at-risk and not-at-risk children based on the studied ages. METHODS: This study was conducted on 86 children under 6 years of age with profound bilateral hearing loss in Newsha Aural Rehabilitation Center in Tehran from July to December 2005. Data were gathered through the completion of a questionnaire by the children's parents, and the children's medical and rehabilitative records were utilized in order to determine the kind and degree of hearing loss. RESULTS: The mean ages of suspicion, diagnosis, amplification, and intervention were 12.6+/-8.9, 15.2+/-9.3, 20.5+/-11.1, and 22.3+/-11.6 months, respectively; there being statistically significant differences between them. 47.7% of the children were in the high-risk group, and statistically there were no significant differences between the at-risk and not-at-risk children in the studied ages. Of all the neonatal diseases investigated, hyperbilirubinemia was the most frequent (40.7%), and there were also four cases of meningitis and six cases of measles. In terms of consanguinity, mating of first cousins was 41.9% and mating of second cousins and farther familial relationships was 14%. After suspecting hearing loss in their children, the parents had visited physicians (57%), audiologists (37.2%), speech therapists (2.3%), or other specialists (3.5%) for the first time. The economic circumstances of the families had a significant bearing on the average ages of suspicion, diagnosis, amplification, and intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the remarkable improvement in the average ages of suspicion, diagnosis, amplification, and intervention in comparison with those reported in a previous study carried out in Iran (2002), there is still noticeable difference between these ages and those suggested by the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing.
Authors: Yazeed Al-Shawi; Lulu Saleh Aldhwaihy; Amerah Mansour Bin Zuair; Rayan Mohammed Alfallaj; Fida Almuhawas Journal: Ann Saudi Med Date: 2019-10-03 Impact factor: 1.526