PEDIATRICS Vol. 79 No. 2 February 1987, pp. 206-213
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow P3Rs: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when P3Rs are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Coplan, J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Coplan, J.

Deafness: Ever Heard of It? Delayed Recognition of Permanent Hearing Loss

James Coplan MD1

1 From the Department of Pediatrics, State University of New York, Upstate Medical Center, Syracuse

Records of approximately 1,000 children seen for evaluation of developmental delay during the period July 1979 to December 1985 were reviewed; 46 children with permanent hearing loss were identified. Age at diagnosis of deafness and factors contributing to delay in diagnosis were sought. Mean age at diagnosis of profound congenital deafness was 24 months. Lesser degrees of congenital hearing loss were not diagnosed until 48 months of age. High-risk medical history or physical anomalies associated with embryologic abnormalities of the auditory system that should have triggered a prompt search for deafness went unheeded in most instances. In 40% of subjects, the author was the first to diagnose hearing loss. For two thirds of this subgroup, audiologic referral was prompted by medical, physical, or developmental findings rather than clinically evident hearing loss during physical examination. Adherence to specific historical, physical, or developmental risk criteria, regardless of the examiner's subjective impression of how well the child seems to hear, would have permitted the timely diagnosis of hearing impairment in all children in this series.

Key Words: deafness • hearing loss • developmental disability • speech and language • screening

Submitted on February 13, 1986
Accepted on April 21, 1986




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 CLIN PEDIATRHome page
T. C. Wall, E. Senicz, H. H. Evans, A. Woolley, and J. M. Hardin
Hearing screening practices among a national sample of primary care pediatricians.
Clinical Pediatrics, July 1, 2006; 45(6): 559 - 566.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
M. Cunningham, E. O. Cox, Committee on Practice and Ambulatory Medicine, and Section on Otolaryngology and Bronchoesophagology
Hearing Assessment in Infants and Children: Recommendations Beyond Neonatal Screening
Pediatrics, February 1, 2003; 111(2): 436 - 440.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J Atten DisordHome page
E. M. Mahone, J. P. Pillion, and J. R. Hiemenz
initial development of an auditory continuous performance test for preschoolers
J Atten Disord, January 1, 2001; 5(2): 93 - 106.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
J. A. Mason and K. R. Herrmann
Universal Infant Hearing Screening by Automated Auditory Brainstem Response Measurement
Pediatrics, February 1, 1998; 101(2): 221 - 228.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 CLIN PEDIATRHome page
D. L. Stewart, K. W. Bibb, and A. Pearlman
Automated Newborn Hearing Testing With the ALGO-1 Screener
Clinical Pediatrics, May 1, 1993; 32(5): 308 - 311.
[PDF]

Home page
 CLIN PEDIATRHome page
E. S. Ruppert and K. Buhrer
Ohio's Infant Hearing Screening and Assessment Program: A Decade In Development
Clinical Pediatrics, January 1, 1992; 31(1): 19 - 22.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 CLIN PEDIATRHome page
M. D. Thompson and G. Thompson
Early Identification of Hearing Loss: Listen to Parents
Clinical Pediatrics, February 1, 1991; 30(2): 77 - 80.
[Abstract] [PDF]