ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to evaluate audiological characteristics and parents' opinions on hearing device use in children with unilateral sensorineural hearing loss (USNHL) who attended a tertiary-level audiologic center. The medical charts of 70 children aged 6 to 12 years with USNHL were reviewed. In 51.4% of cases, the children were diagnosed with USNHL after the age of 2 years. The main causes of USNHL were congenital cytomegalovirus infection (21.4%) and unilateral cochlear nerve hypoplasia (12.9%). The percentage of patients wearing a hearing device was 45.7% (32/70); of these, 28 (87.5%) wore a conventional hearing aid, 2 (6.3%) a CROS device, and 2 (6.3%) a cochlear implant. Regarding the choice to use a hearing device, no significant differences were found between the subcategories of hearing loss degree (p = 0.55) and audiometric configuration (p = 0.54). Most parents of children with mild-to-severe USNHL observed improved attention (90.9%), and reduced fatigue and restlessness (86.4%) using the hearing aid. These children performed significantly better on all audiological tests (speech perception in quiet and in noise conditions, and sound localization) while wearing the hearing aid (p < 0.001). More efforts should be made to raise awareness among professionals and parents about the negative consequences of uncorrected USNHL.
Subject(s)
Audiometry, Speech/methods , Hearing Tests/methods , Hearing , Adult , Aged , Audiometry, Pure-Tone/methods , Audiometry, Speech/instrumentation , Diagnostic Screening Programs , Female , Hearing Tests/instrumentation , Humans , Italy , Male , Middle Aged , Noise , Regression Analysis , Sensitivity and Specificity , Surveys and Questionnaires , VolunteersABSTRACT
Although many studies have been carried out regarding postural stability during pediatric age, reliable information and a complete analysis of all age groups are still lacking. The purpose of this study was to verify the test-retest reliability of posturographic parameters in four sensory conditions and provide normative values for children and young adolescents. 289 subjects, aged 6-14 years, were assessed by means of the static posturography system SVeP. 173 elementary school pupils (114 males and 59 females, aged 6-10 years; mean age 8.80 ± 1.53) and 116 middle school students (60 males and 56 females, aged 11-14 years; mean age 12.6 ± 0.9) underwent static posturography in two consecutive trials with four testing conditions: eyes open and eyes closed with and without foam pads. The participants were divided into nine age groups. Thirty healthy young adults were also recruited for comparison. The analysis of test-retest reliability demonstrated an excellent reliability of velocity measurement and a moderate reliability of area measurement. Velocity and area decreased significantly with age in all sensory conditions, indicating an improvement in postural control from childhood to adolescence. Postural stability had not reached the adult level by the age of 13-14 years. Reliable information regarding postural stability can be obtained in children and young adolescents by means of stabilometric parameters. These data can be used as a reference for early detection of atypical postural development and for the assessment of dizziness and balance disorders in children.
