Analysis of difficulties occurring during the early auditory screening in children

Abstract

Introduction: It is assumed that the critical period for diagnosis of hearing disorders is the baby's first three months of life and that appropriate course and implementation of treatment and/or rehabilitation should begin before a child is six months old. However various kinds of problems may occur during auditory screening of a child may exceed this interval. This problem is particularly pronounced among children with development and health problems and leads to unreliable and varied results.

Aim: The aim of this study was an analysis of prevalence of difficulties occurring during the first year of auditory screening among groups of children with congenital hearing impairment.

Material and methods: Patients were examined in The Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Program in the years 2012 - 2013 in Level III NICUs in Krakow. Results from 250 cases were analyzed retrospectively. Medical exam results of patients with high risk of hearing loss were also included in our analysis. The groups of children included in our study were: children with Down Syndrome, children with nervous system disorders , children with cleft palate or both cleft palate and lip and children with congenital CMV.

Results: In the group of children with cleft palate or both cleft palate and lip the most frequent cause of not conducting objective audiometric tests was bad health condition of a child which precluded his arrival for administering the tests. The most common cause of difficulties in performing hearing tests was the emotional state of children from groups with Down Syndrome. In the group of children with congenital CMV the most common cause of difficulties was a lack of availability of their parents.

Conclusions: 1. We encountered the greatest diagnostic difficulties during the child's first year of life in chosen high-risk groups of children with congenital hearing loss in children with cleft palate or both cleft palate and lip. 2. The highest prevalence of not finished tests was in III and IV interval for all chosen high-risk groups with congenital hearing loss.