Elizabeth M Fitzpatrick1,2, Rakan S Al-Essa3, JoAnne Whittingham2, Jessica Fitzpatrick4. 1. a Faculty of Health Sciences , University of Ottawa , Ottawa , Canada. 2. b Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute , Ottawa , Canada. 3. c College of Medicine , King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences , Riyadh , Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , and. 4. d Dalla Lana School of Public Health Sciences , University of Toronto , Toronto , Canada.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to describe the clinical characteristics of children with unilateral hearing loss (UHL), examine deterioration in hearing, and explore amplification decisions. DESIGN: Population-based data were collected prospectively from time of diagnosis. Serial audiograms and amplification details were retrospectively extracted from clinical charts to document the trajectory and management of hearing loss. SAMPLE: The study included all children identified with UHL in one region of Canada over a 13-year period (2003-2015) after implementation of universal newborn hearing screening. RESULTS: Of 537 children with permanent hearing loss, 20.1% (108) presented with UHL at diagnosis. They were identified at a median age of 13.9 months (IQR: 2.8, 49.0). Children with congenital loss were identified at 2.8 months (IQR: 2.0, 3.6) and made up 47.2% (n = 51), reflecting that a substantial portion had late-onset, acquired or late-identified loss. A total of 42.4% (n = 39) showed deterioration in hearing, including 16 (17.4%) who developed bilateral loss. By study end, 73.1% (79/108) of children had received amplification recommendations. CONCLUSIONS: Up to 20% of children with permanent HL are first diagnosed with UHL. About 40% are at risk for deterioration in hearing either in the impaired ear and/or in the normal hearing ear.
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to describe the clinical characteristics of children with unilateral hearing loss (UHL), examine deterioration in hearing, and explore amplification decisions. DESIGN: Population-based data were collected prospectively from time of diagnosis. Serial audiograms and amplification details were retrospectively extracted from clinical charts to document the trajectory and management of hearing loss. SAMPLE: The study included all children identified with UHL in one region of Canada over a 13-year period (2003-2015) after implementation of universal newborn hearing screening. RESULTS: Of 537 children with permanent hearing loss, 20.1% (108) presented with UHL at diagnosis. They were identified at a median age of 13.9 months (IQR: 2.8, 49.0). Children with congenital loss were identified at 2.8 months (IQR: 2.0, 3.6) and made up 47.2% (n = 51), reflecting that a substantial portion had late-onset, acquired or late-identified loss. A total of 42.4% (n = 39) showed deterioration in hearing, including 16 (17.4%) who developed bilateral loss. By study end, 73.1% (79/108) of children had received amplification recommendations. CONCLUSIONS: Up to 20% of children with permanent HL are first diagnosed with UHL. About 40% are at risk for deterioration in hearing either in the impaired ear and/or in the normal hearing ear.
Entities:
Keywords:
Demographics/epidemiology; hearing aids; medical audiology; paediatric
Authors: F Matin; S Haumann; W Roßberg; D Mitovska; T Lenarz; A Lesinski-Schiedat Journal: Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol Date: 2020-12-18 Impact factor: 2.503