Unilateral and Mild Bilateral Hearing Loss in Children: Past and Current Perspectives

Abstract

Since the early 1980s, audiologists have become increasingly aware of the potential effect of even mild degrees of hearing loss on the psychoeducational and psychosocial outcomes of children. This review describes some of the key research findings during the past several decades that have led us to our current thinking about unilateral and mild bilateral hearing loss in children. The first section addresses unilateral hearing loss. This is followed by a review of the literature on mild bilateral hearing loss. Specifically, the issues addressed include the significance of permanent mild degrees of hearing loss on children's psychoeducational and psychosocial development and the speech, language, and auditory characteristics of children with mild degrees of hearing loss. Finally, some recommendations regarding the direction of future research are offered. This review is followed by 2 articles summarizing the proceedings of a 2005 workshop convened by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) program, and the Marion Downs Hearing Center to address concerns about the underidentification of—and professionals' apparent lack of awareness of—permanent unilateral and minimal to mild hearing loss in children. 56,57

Bone-anchored hearing aids (BAHAs) for people who are bilaterally deaf: a systematic review and economic evaluation

“…34 The author suggests that children with even a relatively mild degree of bilateral hearing loss may exert more energy than their normal-hearing peers to listen in a classroom setting, leaving them with less energy or attention capacity for processing what they hear, taking notes and other activities required of school children. 34 There is evidence to suggest that the effects of hearing loss in adults differ according to age group.…”

“…34 The author suggests that children with even a relatively mild degree of bilateral hearing loss may exert more energy than their normal-hearing peers to listen in a classroom setting, leaving them with less energy or attention capacity for processing what they hear, taking notes and other activities required of school children. 34 There is evidence to suggest that the effects of hearing loss in adults differ according to age group. For example, a large Norwegian health-screening survey examined the association between hearing loss, measured by pure-tone audiometry, and self-report symptoms of mental health and well-being in a normal population sample of over 50,000 people aged between 20 and 101 years.…”

Hearing Screening and Diagnostic Evaluation of Children With Unilateral and Mild Bilateral Hearing Loss

“…This is based on estimated data from state hearing screening programs that show the prevalences of UHL (0.19/1000 screened) and MBHL (0.09/1000 screened) are at least half of the expected prevalences for these losses that have been reported in the literature, including a study involving 7 birthing centers. 2,3 As summarized by Tharpe 4 in this issue, when left undetected, both UHL and MBHL can adversely affect development and can result in difficulties in speech, language, behavior, and academic achievement in some children. [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] Therefore, this underidentification is potentially of significant concern to audiologists, early interventionists, speech-language pathologists, parents, educators, and others.…”

Loudness and acoustic parameters of popular children's toys

“…Some suggest that even a unilateral hearing loss and mild bilateral hearing loss can lead to stunted psychoeducational development [8]. Currently, NIHL is not curable, thus preventive methods such as early recognition of the insults, and behavior modifications, are used to delay the onset of hearing impairment [9].…”