A significant proportion of school children are hearing impaired and they suffer from various academic and adjustment problems. Identification of risk factors will help in containing the problems. In this context this study aims to find the causative factors of hearing impairment. Data obtained from 1000 case files indicated that mean age of detection by parents was 3.03 years. A considerable gap between the mean age of detection and availing audiological rehabilitation was observed. Prenatal diseases, exposure to X-rays during gestation, premature delivery, low birth weight, postnatal jaundice, neonatal seizures and rubella were the significant predictors of hearing impairment. Therefore, children with a history of these predictive factors should be periodically screened for hearing impairment. At a higher level, mass education programmes may include imparting information on preventive measures and early identification of these risk factors.

This study compares the functional language performance of Tamil-speaking children (n = 30) who received a cochlear implant (CI) before 2 years of age (earlier implanted group: EIG) and between 3 and 4 years of age (later implanted group: LIG). Everyday functional language of children was evaluated by interviewing parents using the adapted Parents' Evaluation of Aural/Oral Performance of Children (PEACH) Questionnaire in Tamil language. On average, both groups of children had difficulties in everyday language functioning. However, functional results of EIG were better than those of LIG. In addition significant correlations were found between age at intervention and PEACH score. The evidence lends support to early intervention increasing the functional performance of the children fitted with CI. PEACH can be a clinically feasible evaluation tool to implement in practice for clinicians to obtain meaningful information regarding children's auditory performance in real life at childhood.

Counseling training in graduate programs continues to be underrepresented. If parental queries are not addressed adequately, they keep visiting one doctor after another. Objective. The aim of the study is to identify maternal needs of children with hearing impairment at two stages of habilitation, that is, just after diagnosis (group I) and after receiving 1 to 3 years of language therapy (group II). Methods. Two groups of mothers were asked to speak their queries about aural habilitation of their children. Queries were recorded, summarized, and categorized as per their priorities. Results. Group I mothers wanted to know about how the child would learn to listen and speak (45%), causes of hearing loss (33.7%), understanding the ear and hearing (10.2%), understanding the audiogram (7%), and coping with emotional aspects of hearing loss (5%), while group II parents had priorities concerning speech development (24.5%) followed by child independence and employment (17.3%), schooling (15.6%), problem behaviors (11%), amplification device (9.4%), duration of therapy (8%), future of the child (8%), and questions about how can my child get adjusted to the “normal” world (6%). Conclusions. Culture- and language-specific materials to explain these issues need to be developed.

Objective To assess and describe the involvement of all speech subsystems, including respiration, phonation, articulation, resonance, and prosody, in an individual with cervical spinal cord injury. Methods Detailed speech and voice assessment was performed that included Frenchay Dysarthria Assessment, cranial nerve examination, voice (per-ceptual and instrumental) and nasometric evalua-tion, and intelligibility and communicative effecti-veness. Results Impaired respiratory and phonatory con-trol correlated with the physical impairment of C4 and C5 prolapsed intervertebral disc. Cranial nerve examination indicated nerve IX and XI pathology. Phonatory deficits such as imprecise consonants and mild sibilant distortions were apparent. Voice analysis revealed a hoarse, breathy voice with re-duced loudness and no problems with resonance. Reading and speaking rate was reduced, and over-all a mild reduction in communicative effectiveness was perceived. Conclusion Assessment of the speech subsystems produced a comprehensive picture of the patient’s condition and impairments in one or more areas was identified. Treatment options to improve speech outcomes were provided. LAY ABSTRACT This article presents information about a patient who had spinal cord injury. He demonstrated reduced speech and voice characteristics in addition to physical impairments. The individual’s speech was evaluated for changes, and prominent characteristics were reported, such as lack of breath support, reduced vocal loudness, hoarseness of the voice, and decreased speech clarity. Speech therapy options were suggested. There is little information in the scientific literature about patients who present significant speech problems after cervical spinal injury. Through presentation of this case study we hope to add valuable information to the clinical and scientific database.

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