Significance of early diagnosis and early intervention in early childhood hearing loss

Abstract

Hearing loss is an important problem interfering with the propagation of acoustic signal starting from the external ear to the primary auditory center of the brain. The congenital hearing loss is an important and common disorder that can lead to many consecutive negative conditions when it is not diagnosed and treated within the first few months of life. Early Hearing Diagnosis and Intervention programs becoming more increasingly popular in recent years aim to avoid the negative effects of hearing loss. The main goal of these programs is to maximize the linguistic proficiency and literacy development of children with hearing loss. Children who are not given the appropriate opportunities for learning language fall behind their peers with normal hearing in communication, reading, cognitive and socio-emotional development. Delays occurring in these fields manifest as a lower educational status and vocational employment problem in adulthood. Therefore, diagnosing and treating hearing loss as early as possible is extremely important.