Early screening for hearing impairment in children is generally advised to prevent sensory deprivation and speech, language and learning problems. In the present study, the age at which 176 probably congenitally hearing impaired infants were referred to the Audiological Centre in Nijmegen between 1983 and 1990 was examined. The mean age of fitting the hearing aids was 35 months. This was about 2 years after the auditory screening test (Ewing test) as performed in most baby health care centres. In general, if a screening test is positive, the child will be referred to the general practitioner, who can refer the child to either a general otolaryngologist or a ENT clinic with a (paedo-) audiological centre. Hearing aids can only be provided by an audiological centre. On average, hearing-impaired children who were directly referred to our clinic/audiological centre were provided with hearing aids 13 months earlier than children initially referred to a general otolaryngologist. It is concluded that young children who fail an auditory screening test should be thoroughly tested audiometrically after an otoscopic examination.
Age Factors Child, Preschool