Односторонняя тугоухость в педиатрической практике

Abstract

The problem of unilateral hearing loss is extremely relevant today, although for many years it was not considered significant due to the assertion that a normally hearing ear is sufficiently able to alleviate a hearing impaired one. Starting from the 1980s, this position was questioned and then refuted in connection with the appearance of works that clearly demonstrated the effects of the negative impact of unilateral hearing loss on the quality of life of adults and children (decrease in intellectual functions/academic performance, socialization skills, quality and pace of speech development). The growing interest in the problem of unilateral hearing loss reflected in the increased number of publications on this topic showed that insufficient attention is paid to this issue in pediatric practice. According to the data obtained, unilateral hearing loss in children (especially congenital) is difficult to detect, its negative impact, in particular, manifests itself in the form of reduced and retarded intellectual development (poor vocabulary, learning problems, communication problems) in comparison with age mates. Early diagnosis of unilateral hearing loss in children is extremely important since the normal harmonious mental development of such patients requires special conditions and individual training programs, work with an audiologist (including the use of hearing aids). The difficulties of diagnosis include the lack of a proven algorithm for diagnosis of unilateral hearing loss, especially in young children. There is no single point of view on therapeutic and corrective measures for unilateral hearing loss in children. In recent years, more and more works have been devoted to cochlear implantation (CI) in children with unilateral hearing loss, which, however, only shows the possible relevance of this method and the need to revise the criteria for selecting candidates for CI, further analyze the results in the postoperative period, and conduct additional studies. The foregoing opens up prospects for further study of this problem in pediatric practice.