Hearing Disorders In Children Research Articles

Modern methods of investigating the vestibular function in children

ABSTRACT. Worldwide, there are about 466 million people (6.1%) with hearing loss and approximately 34 million of them (7%) are children, two-thirds of whom live in developing countries. In the course of research, it has been proven that in 60% of cases, sensorineural deafness is combined with vestibular disorders, which can be both obvious (rarely in children) and hidden. Timely detection of vestibular disorders in young children, especially hidden ones, prevents delay in the child’s motor development and significantly reduces the risk of vestibular dizziness development in older age. The aim of the article was to study modern instrumental methods of balance function research in children based on scientific analysis of contemporary literary data. Materials and methods: A comprehensive search of relevant literature sources was conducted in December 2021 using electronic databases RubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE, U.S. National Library of Medicine Clinical Trials, Research Gate and Cocharane Library. The results: Despite highly developed technological diagnostic capabilities of present-day medicine, the study of etiology, prevention and correction of various balance and hearing disorders in children of different ages is one of the most acute issues to be solved by modern medical community. Up-to-date improvements in the diagnostic methods of the auditory and vestibular analyzer expand the possibilities of interpreting their results and allow a deeper understanding of the degree of the stato-acoustic analyzer damage. To investigate the vestibular function, vestibulometry and otoneurological examinations are usually carried out, which are the same tests that are used in adults. However, such examinations require more patience from the child and they should be conducted in a playful manner. Detection of hidden vestibular dysfunctions ought to be comprehensive, in particular, using instrumental methods, one of which is static computer stabilometry, that creates an opportunity to determine translational and motor disorders. The conclusion. Long-term problems with balance in children can lead to a delay of motor functions development, which can further slow down the child's achievement of age-appropriate psychomotor stages and have a negative impact on school performance, and in general, on social, speech and intellectual development. Therefore, detection of vestibular dysfunction at an early age is of great medical and social importance. Acute otitis media is currently a curable disease in most cases, if undesirable consequences are prevented during the period of examination and treatment. Vestibular function can be adequately assessed using reliable instrumental tests. In this sense, static stabilometry is a very useful method for the objective determination of vestibular deficits in children, regardless of the presence or absence of any subjective complaints.

Functional Hearing Disorder in Children

Functional hearing disorder (FHD) is one of the conditions that fall under the umbrella of Functional Neurological Disorders. FHD is characterized by a decrease in hearing sensitivity without correlation in standard audiological testing. In the general pediatric population, the prevalence of FHD is estimated at less than 2%. The prevalence is about 7% in children 6-17 years of age. Some authors, however, consider FHD the most common etiology of sudden onset bilateral hearing loss in children. The mean age at diagnosis of FHD is 11.3 years - the condition is rare below 7 years of age. FHD affects twice as many girls as boys. The loss tends to be of sudden onset, bilateral, impacts all frequencies to a similar degree, and can be associated with an identifiable psychosocial conflict. FHD can be diagnosed using two sets of tests: (1) behavioral tests: pure-tone and speech audiometry; and (2) physiological tests: immittance audiometry, otoacoustic emissions, auditory evoked potentials, and functional neuroimaging. The backbone of the treatment of FHD includes cognitive-behavioral therapy and as needed, psychiatric medications. In this paper, we review the diagnosis, treatment, differential diagnosis, and complications of FHD.

Hearing screening of school children in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Poland

Introduction Hearing screening is an important part of prevention. It allows early detection of hearing disorders, thus the treatment may begin early, and eliminates or minimises negative consequences. Children with hearing impairment often experience delayed speech development and cognitive abilities, which can result in learning disabilities and reduce school progress. Since 1999, the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing in Poland has provided a hearing screening program for school-age children in the country. The main aim of the program is the early detection of hearing disorders in children starting school, and increase in the awareness among parents of hearing problems. Materials and Methods Pure-tone air-conduction hearing thresholds were obtained at 0.5–8 kHz. The results of the hearing screening examination were regarded as positive if pure-tone thresholds were higher than 20 dB HL in one or both ears at one or more of the test frequencies. The audiometric results were supplemented by questionnaires completed by the parents. There were 8,091 first-grade children from the Podkarpackie Voivodeship enrolled in the program. Results Based on the audiogram, screening showed that hearing impairment was found in 1618 children (20% of the examined children). Conclusion Our study yielded a large group of children with hearing problems. We recommend that hearing screening in primary schools should be a routine procedure within a general framework of preventive pediatric health care.

Comparison of tympanometry results for probe tones of 226 Hz and 1000 Hz in newborns

IntroductionImpedance audiometry is a routine test for diagnosing hearing disorders in children. Typically, tympanometry uses a 220 or 226 Hz probe tone. However, using a 1000 Hz test tone is becoming increasingly popular, particularly in newborns, since it enables one to assess individual components of the ear's admittance. AimThis study compares tympanograms for test frequencies of 226 Hz and 1000 Hz in newborns and evaluate the rate of occurrence of each type of tympanogram for both frequencies. Material and methodThe study material was 53 newborns. All newborns underwent middle ear susceptibility testing at two measurement frequencies: 226 Hz and 1000 Hz. The parameters obtained with both frequencies were compared, and the utility of the 1000 Hz test frequency for middle ear diagnostics in newborns was evaluated. ResultsThe results show that tympanograms obtained from the same ear using different test frequencies are significantly different. The 1000 Hz tone produced a higher rate of type B tympanograms (flat). ConclusionsTympanometry curves for 226 Hz and 1000 Hz are different, and in newborns the 1000 Hz test tone revealed a higher rate of middle ear pathology. However, further studies are required to verify that 1000 Hz tympanometry is a high-sensitivity diagnostic method for middle ear problems in newborns.

Auditory and Language Development Assessment of Newborns Aged One to Four Years Exposed to Gestational Zika Virus Infection: A Case Series

The known neurotropism of the Zika virus (ZikV) suggests that auditory organs and their neural pathways may be affected by prenatal Zika infections. Among the possible manifestations are audiological and language disorders, but so far, the data in the literature are inconclusive. Objective: To describe early and late hearing disorders in children with Congenital Zika Virus Infection (CZVI) and evaluate the language development of this population between 14 and 47 months of age and its possible correlation with the alterations found in auditory exams. Methods: Longitudinal, prospective, observational study of newborns born in Juiz de Fora and its macroregion with confirmed diagnosis of ZikV infection during pregnancy. Participants were examined from one to four years of age for hearing using the transient otoacoustic emissions (TOAE) test, immittance testing and brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP), and language using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development—Third Edition (Bayley III). Results: 15 participants were included; eight (53.33%) presented alterations in at least one of the hearing tests, one had an early loss (6%) of sensorineural origin, and seven (46.67%) had a poor language performance. In the three (20%) participants whose audiological exams were altered, there was language impairment, and two (13.33%) participants had extensive malformations in the central nervous system (CNS), presented language delay, and hearing exams were within normality. Conclusion: Infants and preschoolers with CZVI may present early neurosensory loss and late hearing loss with fluctuating character. Even if there were no significant association between the audiological exams results and the Bayley III performance, in the present sample, language development was below expectations for the age in the participants who had alterations in the three audiological exams, when there is early hearing loss or extensive lesions to the CNS. The results reinforce the importance of audiological examinations, especially the BAEP morphological and auditory threshold, in monitoring cases of CZVI until at least three years of age.

Recommendations for All-Round Newborns and Infants Hearing Screening in Russian Federation

Background. Nowadays there is a need to revise the Russian list of risk factors of hearing loss and deafness based on their study according to the evidence-based medicine and the analysis of the audiology service capabilities. Moreover, audiologic screening system for newborns and infants should be revised in every region to identify the reasons of mismatch with international standards and to find ways of its efficacy improvement. Objective. The aim of the study is to increase the efficacy of Russian program of all-round newborns and infants hearing screening. Methods. This study consisted of two parts. 1) The first stage of audiological screening audit on the example of 78 medical institutions in Saint-Petersburg. The availability and correct function of hearing research equipment, specialists’ qualifications, study technique and conditions, documents and results transmitting accuracy were estimated. 2) Updating the list of risk factors of hearing loss. The prevalence rate of these factors in Russian population according to the literature and official statistics was studied. Evaluation of predictive significance of risk factors was based on retrospective data in the cohort of 393 children born in 2012 (280 with hearing loss, 113 healthy) examined in National Research Centre for Audiology and Hearing Rehabilitation at the age of 0–4 years. Results. The first stage of audiological screening audit has shown that only 14% of included institutions fully meet the criteria of its effective implementation. The following problems were revealed: purchase and renewal of equipment, its timely adjustment, ensuring the continuity of screening stages, specialists training, compliance with methodology and study conditions, results documentation. We were able to increase by 8.5% (close to targeted indicator) the coverage of newborns with first stage of audiological screening as well as to increase the rate of children at the diagnostic stage from 33% to 51%, due to the results of this audit and methodological assistance to the institutions. According to the analysis of prognostic significance and prevalence of risk factors of hearing loss and deafness in Russian population of newborns, it is necessary to perform full hearing examination regardless of the results of newborns and infants hearing screening with the following risk factors: 1) cases of persistent child hearing loss in the family; 2) syndromes associated with hearing loss; 3) auricle, ear canal and dentofacial anomalies; 4) congenital infection (cytomegalovirus, rubella, syphilis, toxoplasmosis); 5) stay in newborns intensive care unit for more than 2 days; 6) prematurity of 32 weeks or less; birth weight less than 1500 g; 7) hyperbilirubinemia in perinatal period (exchange blood transfusion; total bilirubin level when exchange blood transfusion is needed); 8) usage of ototoxic drugs; 9) severe perinatal damage to the central nervous system, neurodegenerative diseases; 10) ambiguous reaction to sounds, developmental delay. Conclusion. Maintenance of all-round newborns hearing screening algorithm will allow us to avoid the diagnosis delay, to start the rehabilitation earlier and further to significantly increase the efficacy of modern high-tech methods for correcting hearing disorders in children. We have to check the presence of risk factors of hearing loss and deafness in every child. Timely referral of children with risk factors for the second stage of audiological screening, diagnosis and correction of hearing disorders creates conditions for normal child oral-aural development.

What Acoustic Studies Tell Us About Vowels in Developing and Disordered Speech.

Purpose Literature was reviewed on the development of vowels in children's speech and on vowel disorders in children and adults, with an emphasis on studies using acoustic methods. Method Searches were conducted with PubMed/MEDLINE, Google Scholar, CINAHL, HighWire Press, and legacy sources in retrieved articles. The primary search items included, but were not limited to, vowels, vowel development, vowel disorders, vowel formants, vowel therapy, vowel inherent spectral change, speech rhythm, and prosody. Results/Discussion The main conclusions reached in this review are that vowels are (a) important to speech intelligibility; (b) intrinsically dynamic; (c) refined in both perceptual and productive aspects beyond the age typically given for their phonetic mastery; (d) produced to compensate for articulatory and auditory perturbations; (e) influenced by language and dialect even in early childhood; (f) affected by a variety of speech, language, and hearing disorders in children and adults; (g) inadequately assessed by standardized articulation tests; and (h) characterized by at least three factors-articulatory configuration, extrinsic and intrinsic regulation of duration, and role in speech rhythm and prosody. Also discussed are stages in typical vowel ontogeny, acoustic characterization of rhotic vowels, a sensory-motor perspective on vowel production, and implications for clinical assessment of vowels.

A DESCRIPTION OF PERINATAL AS A RISK FACTOR OF CHILDREN’S SENSORINEURAL HEARING DISORDER IN OTOLARYNGOLOGY (ENT) POLYCLINIC OF ABDUL WAHAB HOSPITAL SJAHRANIE IN SAMARINDA

Sensorineural Hearing Disorder in children could give a significant impact on everyday life and would cause loneliness, isolation, and frustration on children. Perinatal risk factors are important to note because they could be detected from newborn and could be an indication for the baby to do the screening. The purpose of hearing screening in newborns is to find hearing loss as early as possible so that habilitation can be done immediately. The purpose of this study was to describe perinatal period as risk factors for Sensorineural Hearing Disorder in children. The subjects of this study were children who has done BERA examinations at the Otolaryngology (ENT) Polyclinic of Abdul Wahab Sjahranie Hospital in Samarinda from January 2017 – June 2019. The design of this study was observational descriptive with cross-sectional method. There were 65 children as sample which consisted of 39 (60%) boys and 26 (40%) girls. BERA examination age that was found in this study has not reached the optimal standard if it is referring to the JCIH standard with the most age group is 3 years old. 37 (56.9%) children suffered from Sensorineural Hearing Disorder. 27 (41.5%) children had perinatal risk factors. The most common risk factors was jaundice which the researchers found on 11 (16.9%) children. 20 (30.8%) children who have perinatal risk factors and Sensorineural Hearing Disorder with the most common risk factor is LBW are as many as 10 (15.4%).

Communication Ability and Related Factors in Children with Hearing Aids

Background : Hearing function is very influential on the development of speech and language. Hearing disorders in children can lead to disrupt of communication skills. Hearing aids help provide the development of the ability to hear, talk, and communicate. Some factors such as age, duration of use of hearing aids, and parental activeness in encouraging children to communicate and perform auditory verbal therapy are known have an effect on communication skills.Aim : Knowing the capabilities and related factors of communication after using of hearing aids in children.Method : Had been done cross sectional study design at the private hearing centre in Bandung in the period January - May 2018. Inclusion criteria for this research is children who use hearing aids which control in the period January-May 2018Result : From 60 subjects that fit with research criteria. There were 35 childrens (58,33%) who use mix communication, there were 23 childrens (38,33%) in special school. There were 37 childrens (61,67%) who have communication duration more than 6 hours. There were 45 childrens (75%) had routine frequency of therapy. There were 23 childrens (38,33%) who use AVT&Speech Therapy. A total of 66.67% of subjects had a low PEACH score (< 60), 16.67% had a moderate PEACH score (> 60 - ≤ 75), and 16.66% had a normal PEACH score (> 75). The PEACH score in this study shows an average value of 52.63% with 16.66% had a normal PEACH score (> 75)Conclusion : Caractheristic that have a significant relationship with normal peach score, communication method, educational method, communication duration, frequency of therapy, and type of therapy used (p <0.05 )

Communication ability and related factors in children with hearing aids

Background:Hearing function is very significant in the development of speech and language. Hearing disorders in children can lead to communication skill disturbance. Hearing aids can help to support the development of hearing, talking, and communication abilities. Several factors such as age, duration of using hearing aids, and parental participation in encouraging children to communicate and undergo auditory verbal therapy, are recognized to have impacts on communication skills. Aim:To find out communication capabilities and related factors after using hearing aids in children. Method:A cross sectional study was performed at a private hearing center in Bandung. Inclusion criteria was children using hearing aids who were doing follow-up in the period January-May 2018. Result: From 60 research subjects, there were 35 (58.33%) who used mixed communication, and 23 (38.33%) were in special school. There were 37 (61.67%) who had more than 6 hours communication, 45 (75%) underwent routine therapy, and 23 (38.33%) underwent Auditory Verbal Therapy (AVT) and Speech Therapy. The assessment was using PEACH (Parents’ Evaluation of Aural/oral performance of Children) score. A total of 66.67% subjects had a low (<60) PEACH score, 16.67% had a moderate (>60 - ≤75) PEACH score, and 16.66% had a normal (>75) PEACH score. The PEACH score in this study showed an average value of 52.63% with 16.66% had a normal (>75) PEACH score. Conclusion:Specific characters that had significant correlation with normal PEACH score were communication method, educational method, communication duration, frequency of therapy, and type of therapy (p <0.05). Keywords: PEACH score, hearing aid, communication, children ABSTRACT Latar Belakang: Fungsi pendengaran sangat berpengaruh pada perkembangan bicara dan bahasa. Gangguan pendengaran pada anak dapat menyebabkan gangguan komunikasi. Alat bantu dengar menunjang mengembangkan kemampuan mendengar, berbicara, dan berkomunikasi. Beberapa faktor seperti usia, lamanya penggunaan alat bantu dengar, dan keaktifan orang tua dalam mendorong anak untuk berkomunikasi dan melakukan terapi verbal pendengaran diketahui memiliki dampak pada keterampilan komunikasi. Tujuan: Mengetahui kemampuan komunikasi dan faktor yang memengaruhi setelah menggunakan alat bantu dengar pada anak-anak. Metode: Telah dilakukan penelitian cross sectional di sebuah Klinik Pusat pendengaran di Bandung pada periode Januari-Mei 2018 . Kriteria inklusi untuk penelitian ini adalah anak yang menggunakan alat bantu dengar, yang melakukan kontrol pada periode Januari-Mei 2018. Hasil: Dari 60 subjek yang sesuai dengan kriteria penelitian, terdapat 35 anak (58,33%) yang menggunakan komunikasi campuran, dan 23 anak (38,33%) mengikuti pendidikan di sekolah khusus. Ada 37 anak (61,67%) yang memiliki durasi komunikasi lebih dari 6 jam, 45 anak (75%) rutin dalam terapi, dan 23 anak (38,33%) yang menggunakan terapi Auditory Verbal Therapy (AVT) dan terapi wicara. Penilaiannya menggunakan skor PEACH (Parents’ Evaluation of Aural/ oral performance of Children). Sebanyak 66,67% subjek memiliki skor PEACH rendah (<60), 16,67% memiliki skor PEACH sedang (> 60 - ≤ 75), dan 16,66% memiliki skor PEACH normal (> 75). Skor PEACH dalam penelitian ini menunjukkan nilai rata-rata 52,63% dengan 16,66% memiliki skor PEACH normal (>75). Kesimpulan: Karakteristik yang memiliki hubungan yang signifikan dengan skor PEACH normal adalah metode komunikasi, metode pendidikan, durasi komunikasi, frekuensi terapi, dan jenis terapi yang digunakan (p<0,05).

Early Diagnostics of Hearing Disorders in Children of Preschool Age in the Republic of Uzbekistan (Review)

Early Diagnostics of Hearing Disorders in Children of Preschool Age in the Republic of Uzbekistan (Review)

Some associated factors in hearing loss among children aged 25 in kindergartensin Hai Duong Province, Vietnam

Background: Hearing disorder in children is generally recognized as a public health issue. The associated factors of hearing loss in children continue to be unknown in Vietnam. The goal of this study was to analyse some associated factors of hearing loss among children aged 2–5 in selected kindergartens in Hai Duong Province, Vietnam, in 2018. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among children aged 2–5 years old at 4 kindergartens in Hai Duong Province, Vietnam. The researchers directly interviewed the children’s mothers at the kindergartens in order to collect information about prenatal, perinatal and postnatal factors. After that, children did the otoacoustic emission (OAE) test and completed by an auditory brainstem response (ABR) test for the positive diagnosis of hearing impairment. Results: The subjects of the study were 1,090 children aged 2–5 and their mothers at kindergartens in Hai Duong Province, Vietnam. The results revealed a variety of factors associated with hearing loss among these children, including maternal rubella (OR = 7.15; 95% CI: 1.51–26.19), severe jaundice (OR = 8.70; 95% CI: 2.64–28.95), prolonged oxygen use (OR = 12.90; 95% CI: 3.00–55.67) and chronic ear infections (OR = 9.81; 95% CI: 5.45–17.55). Conclusion: The study found that maternal rubella, severe jaundice, prolonged oxygen use and chronic ear infections were the associated factors of hearing loss among preschool children in Hai Duong Province, Vietnam. Children suffering from these factors should undergo the OAE and ABR tests to ensure early detection of hearing loss.

The importance of dynamic audiological examination of children with congenital cytomegalovirus infection

The main objective of this work was the development of the algorithm of dynamic audiological examination of children with congenital CMVI. Today, there are 60 children with congenital CMVI under dynamic observation, 8 children (13%) have hearing disorders, in two (25%) of them sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) was delayed. The comparison group included 50 patients, where hearing disorders have been revealed in 4% of cases. Besides, this article presents a clinical case of peripheral hearing improvement in a child with the resolution of hydrocephalus associated with congenital CMVI. In consideration of the information from foreign literary sources and based on the available data about the period of occurrence of the delayed hearing disorders in children both with symptomatic and asymptomatic form of CMVI, the authors suggested an algorithm for dynamic audiological observation of children with congenital CMVI providing and examination once per three months over the first year of life, once per 6 months – during the 2nd year of life and once per year at the age of 2 through 6 years.

The incidence and prevalence of hearing disorders in children according to the audiological screening

One of the important tasks of children's audiology is the early identification of hearing impairment in children and the timely commencement of rehabilitation activities, such as a hearing aid, and in the presence of deep hearing loss difficult to treat with traditional methods of hearing rehabilitation, cochlear implantation should be used. Currently, due to the introduction of objective methods of hearing evaluation in clinical practice,there is a real opportunity to detect hearing disorders in children from the βirst days of life including premature newborns. In this study, we analyzed data of hearing acuity audiological screening among children at the age of 0–17 years for the period from 2015 to 2016. During this period, 4,588,365 children were examined in 2015, and 4,562,489 children were examined in 2016, within the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Clinical profile of patients with secretory otitis media

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> Most affected by secretory otitis media are children who more often than not do often know that something is wrong with their ears. It is the most common hearing disorder in children starting mostly before school age. Affected ears harbor middle ear effusion which causes hearing, loss, but usually no other otologic symptoms<span lang="EN-IN">. </span></p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> The fifty cases were chosen in different age group and sex, based on their symptoms, and confirmed by otoscopic finding and pure tone audiometry. And these were further studied in detail as per the proforma enclosed<span lang="EN-IN">. </span></p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> <span>On otoscopic examination the predominant sign was the prominence </span><span>of handle of malleus and short process, flashing movement of the tympanic </span>membrane. The tympanic membrane was found as full, lusterless and amber coloured<span lang="EN-IN">. </span></p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> Secretory otitis media can be diagnosed clinically to the accuracy of 90%<span lang="EN-IN">.</span></p>

The role of hearing capability test as a screening test for the possibility of hearing disorder in children with speech delay

Background Hearing disorder may cause speech delay so thatevery child with speech delay should undergo hearing test. Thegold standard for audiometric test is otoacustic emission (OAE)and brainstem evoked response audiometry (BERA). They havehigh sensitivity and specificity, but the availability is limited andexpensive. Hence, both tests are not available at the primary healthcare centers. In 1997, the Department of Health, Republic of Indo-nesia, established a simple subjective test instrument, i.e. the hear-ing capability test (HCT).Objective To asses the accuracy of HCT compared to the goldstandard hearing tests (OAE and/or BERA).Methods This study was a cross sectional study on 89 childrenaged less than 5 years who had speech delay and came to theGrowth and Development Outpatient Clinic or the General Outpa-tient Clinic, Pediatric Neurology Clinic of the Department of ChildHealth, Cipto Mangunkusumo (CM) Hospital; and Center for EarCare and Communicative Disorders (CECCD), Department of ENT,CM Hospital, during March to August 2005.Results HCT sensitivity and specificity were 92.9% and 27.7%,respectively. Positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictivevalue (NPV), positive likelihood ratio (PLR), and negative likehoodratio (NLR) were 84%, 50%, 1.9, and 0.7, respectively.Conclusion The sensitivity and specificity of HCT as a screeningtest of hearing disorder in children with speech delay were 93%and 28%, respectively. Based on this result, HCT should only beused as screening test and not as a diagnostic test

Speech and language disorders in children from public schools in Belo Horizonte

ObjectiveTo investigate the prevalence of oral language, orofacial motor skill and auditory processing disorders in children aged 4–10 years and verify their association with age and gender. MethodsCross-sectional study with stratified, random sample consisting of 539 students. The evaluation consisted of three protocols: orofacial motor skill protocol, adapted from the Myofunctional Evaluation Guidelines; the Child Language Test ABFW – Phonology; and a simplified auditory processing evaluation. Descriptive and associative statistical analyses were performed using Epi Info software, release 6.04. Chi-square test was applied to compare proportion of events and analysis of variance was used to compare mean values. Significance was set at p≤0.05. ResultsOf the studied subjects, 50.1% had at least one of the assessed disorders; of those, 33.6% had oral language disorder, 17.1% had orofacial motor skill impairment, and 27.3% had auditory processing disorder. There were significant associations between auditory processing skills’ impairment, oral language impairment and age, suggesting a decrease in the number of disorders with increasing age. Similarly, the variable “one or more speech, language and hearing disorders” was also associated with age. ConclusionsThe prevalence of speech, language and hearing disorders in children was high, indicating the need for research and public health efforts to cope with this problem.

Alterações fonoaudiológicas em crianças de escolas públicas em Belo Horizonte

ObjectiveTo investigate the prevalence of oral language, orofacial motor skill and auditory processing disorders in children aged 4‐10 years old and verify their association with age and gender. MethodsCross‐sectional study with stratified, random sample consisting of 539 students. The evaluation consisted of three protocols: orofacial motor skill protocol, adapted from the Myofunctional Evaluation Guidelines; the Child Language Test ABFW ‐ Phonology, and a simplified auditory processing evaluation. Descriptive and associative statistical analyses were performed using Epi Info software, release 6.04. Chi‐square test was applied to compare proportion of events and analysis of variance was used to compare mean values. Significance was set at p≤0.05. ResultsOf the studied subjects, 50.1% had at least one of the assessed disorders; of those, 33.6% had oral language disorder, 17.1%, had orofacial motor skill impairment, and 27.3% had auditory processing disorder. There were significant associations between auditory processing skills’ impairment, oral language impairment and age, suggesting a decrease in the number of disorders with increasing age. Similarly, the variable “one or more speech, language and hearing disorders” was also associated with age. ConclusionsThe prevalence of speech, language and hearing disorders in children was high, indicating the need for research and public health efforts to cope with this problem.

Spotlight on Special Interest Group 9, Hearing and Hearing Disorders in ChildrenA brief look at Special Interest Group 9, Hearing and Hearing Disorders in Children.

Spotlight on Special Interest Group 9, Hearing and Hearing Disorders in ChildrenA brief look at Special Interest Group 9, Hearing and Hearing Disorders in Children.

A real-time data acquisition and control of gradient coil noise for fMRI identification of hearing disorder in children with history of ear infection.

Early ear infection and trauma, from birth to age 12 are known to have a significant effect on sensory and cognitive development. This effect can be demonstrated through the fMRI study of children who have a history of ear infection compared to a control group. A second research question is the extent to which brain plasticity at an early age can reduce the impact of infection on hearing and cognitive development. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) provides a mapping of brain activity in cognitive and sensory regions by recording the oxygenation state of the local cerebral blood flow. The gradient coils of fMRI scanners generate intense acoustic noise (GCN) - to which the subject is in close proximity - in the range of 90 to 140 db SPL during the imaging process. Clearly this noise will impress its signature on low level brain response patterns. An Active Noise Canceller (ANC) system can suppress the effect of GCN on the subject's perception of a phonetic stimulus at the phoneme, word or phrase level. Due to a superimposition of the frequency and time domain components of the test signal and GCN for MR test, the ANC filtering system performs its function in real time - we must capture the brain's response to the test signal AFTER the noise has been removed. This goal is achieved through the application of field programmable gate array (FPGA) technology of NI LabVIEW. The presentation (in the noisy fMRI environment) of test words and phrases to hearing impaired children can identify sources of distortion to their perceptual processes associated with GCN. Once this distortion has been identified, learning strategies may be introduced to replace the hearing function distorted by early infection as well as the short term effect of GCN. The study of speech cognition without the confounding effect of GCN and with the varying level of GCN for a repeated test signal at later age can be allowed to a measure of recovery through brain plasticity.