Characteristics of participating teenagers with hearing impairment and with normal hearing
| Children with bilateral PCHI (n=76) | Normally hearing children (n=38) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristic | Confirmation of PCHI at ≤9 months (n=35) | Confirmation of PCHI at >9 months (n=41) | |
| Mean (SD) age at assessment in years | 16.8 (1.5) | 17.3 (1.3) | 16.3 (1.2) |
| Female sex n (%) | 16 (46) | 21 (51) | 13 (34) |
| Born in period with UNHS n (%) | 23 (66) | 14 (34) | NA |
| Severity n (%) | |||
| Moderate* | 16 (45) | 17 (41) | |
| Severe | 7 (20) | 12 (29) | NA |
| Profound | 12 (34) | 12 (29) | |
| Hearing device used n (%) | |||
| Cochlear implant/s | 7 (20) | 8 (19) | |
| Hearing aid/s | 23 (66) | 32 (78) | NA |
| No hearing device | 5 (14)† | 1 (2)‡ | |
| Mean (SD) non-verbal ability z-score§ | −0.3 (0.9) | −0.3 (0.8) | 0 (1) |
| Aetiology n (%) | |||
| Syndromic | 9 (26) | 4 (10) | |
| Other hereditary | 6 (17) | 10 (24) | NA |
| Known non-genetic risk¶ | 2 (6) | 3 (7) | |
| Not known | 18 (51) | 24 (59) | |
| Other disabilities n (%) | |||
| Cerebral palsy | 1 (3) | 1 (2) | 0 |
| Visual disability | 1 (3) | 1 (2) | 0 |
| Learning disability | 6 (17) | 8 (20) | 0 |
| None of the above | 28 (80) | 33 (80) | 38 (100) |
| English as main language at home n (%) | 34 (97) | 36 (88) | 36 (95) |
| Maternal education n (%) | |||
| No qualifications/<5 O-levels** | 9 (26) | 10 (24) | 6 (16) |
| ≥5 O-levels or some A-levels** | 17 (49) | 21 (51) | 14 (37) |
| University or higher degree | 9 (26) | 10 (24) | 18 (47) |
*Six participants (two with confirmation of PCHI at ≤9 months, four with confirmation of PCHI >9 months) classified with PCHI of moderate severity when previously assessed at 6–10 years of age had shown improvements by the current study such that their better ear hearing thresholds now fell between 30 and 40 dB.
†Three with significant additional impairments (all had chromosomal disorders and learning disability), two with moderate PCHI who were not current hearing aid users.
‡One with significant additional impairments (learning disability).
§Age-adjusted z-scores are listed for Ravens Progressive Matrices total score. The z-scores are the number of SDs of the scores in normally hearing children by which the age-adjusted score differed from the mean score in the normally hearing children.
¶Prematurity or cerebral palsy.
**O-level examinations (now replaced by general certificates of education) are usually taken at 16 years of age; A-level examinations (now replaced by A2s) are taken 2 years later as qualifications for entry to higher education.
NA, not applicable; PCHI, permanent childhood hearing impairment; UNHS, universal newborn hearing screening