PEDIATRICS Vol. 47 No. 2 February 1971, pp. 447-451
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Selective Hearing Loss: Clues to Early Identification

Vanja A. Holm M.D.1 and Gary Thompson Ph.D.1

1 Departments of Pediatrics, and Speech, Clinical Training Unit, Child Development and Mental, Retardation Center, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98105

The child in this report was thought at various times to be mentally retarded, emotionally disturbed, and brain damaged before his selective hearing loss was discovered at age 53frac14 years. He had developed puzzling behavior secondary to the confusing verbal messages he received and his unpredictability in turn had had a disturbing effect on his environment. Physicians will assist in the early identification of these children if they:

(1) Recognize conditions in infancy associated with high risk of hearing handicap.

(2) Listen to parents' observations about their child's language development and take their concerns seriously.

(3) Pay attention to language development in the 2-year old; delay can easily be demonstrated on the Denver Developmental Screening Test.

(4) Remember that prolonged jargoning, poor enunciation, and excessive use of gestures are suspicious symptoms of hearing loss.

(5) Are aware of the fact that informal hearing screen may fail to identify partial hearing loss.

(6) Refer the child suspected of hearing impairment to the audiologist regardless of the child's age, developmental level, and behavior. The audiologist is the professional best qualifled to determine the degree of testing accuracy that can be obtained.