© 2005 BMJ Publishing Group & Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
PERSPECTIVE
Audiology
Googly from down under: hearing impairment and early intervention
1 University Department of Audiological Medicine, Manchester Royal Infirmary, Manchester, UK
2 Medical student, University of Manchester, UK
Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr V K Das
University Department of Audiological Medicine, Manchester Royal Infirmary, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9WL, UK; vijay.das@cmmc.nhs.uk
Commentary on the paper by Wake et al (see 238)
Keywords: hearing loss; child language; reading; age factors; cohort studies
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
The field of audiological medicine has ridden the wave of technological advancement that has transformed many aspects of screening and intervention in medicine. We can screen newborns for hearing loss, however we are not sure what is the most cost effective and simple method. A screening test that can be referred to as the "golden standard", still eludes us. With the incidence of permanent bilateral clinically significant hearing loss at just over 1 in 1000 births,1,2 the need for a simple, inexpensive, and reliable screening method is evident.
The importance of diagnosing hearing loss at an early stage led to screening originally of "at risk" groups in the form of a targeted screening programme. This approach has proved to be effective as over half of hearing impaired and deaf children can be identified. To identify the other half of hearing impaired children, universal newborn screening programmes are being used
Relevant Article
- Hearing impairment: a population study of age at diagnosis, severity, and language outcomes at 78 years
- M Wake, Z Poulakis, E K Hughes, C Carey-Sargeant, and F W Rickards
Arch. Dis. Child. 2005 90: 238-244.[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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