Release: May 12, 1998 Contact: Kenneth Satterfield
(703) 519-1563
email: [email protected]
In Palm Beach, FL (5/9-5/14)
(561) 653-6332
PARENTS, CARE GIVERS, FALL SHORT IN ASSESSING HEARING LOSS IN CHILDREN WITH CHRONIC EAR INFECTIONS
PALM BEACH, FL -- You don't have to tell most parents that otitis media (middle ear infection) is the most common reason that children under 12 visit a doctor. Those who care for infants and toddlers recognize the symptoms of this common childhood medical disorder: pulling and scratching on the ear, crying, irritability, fever, ear drainage, and hearing loss.
What many parents do not realize is that otitis media, if untreated, can cause permanent damage to the ears, most notably, lifetime hearing loss. Hearing loss in young children may impair learning capacity and even delay speech development. This is why, when a parent brings their pre-school child to a physician for treatment of chronic or recurrent otitis media, he or she is asked "Does your child hear properly?"
Should physicians rely only on the perceptions of parents when assessing whether their young patient has undergone hearing loss due to otitis media? Two otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeons and an audiologist have completed a study that reveals that parents cannot accurately detect hearing loss in children with chronic or recurrent middle ear infections.
The results of the study were presented before a meeting of the American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology. The organization is currently meeting at a gathering of ten ear, nose, and throat societies being held May 9-16, 1998, at the Breakers Hotel, Palm Beach, FL, coordinated by the American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery Foundation.
The researchers are Richard M. Rosenfeld, MD, MPH, Aril J. Goldsmith, MD, and Jane R. Madell, PhD, CCC-A/SLP, all from Long Island College Hospital, Brooklyn, NY. In their experience of treating children with middle ear infections, the specialists repeatedly encountered normal-hearing children whose parents insisted a hearing problem was present, and children with mild hearing loss whose parents claimed that hearing was normal. Accordingly, the study was designed to determine how accurately parents assessed the impact of middle ear effusion.
- over - Methodology: The study was conducted at Long Island College Hospital between December, 1995, and March, 1996. Children studied were age six months to 12 years and have chronic otitis media (middle ear effusion in one or both ears for three months or longer) or recurrent otitis media (three or more acute otitis media episodes in the past 12 months). Disqualifying criteria were tympanic membrane preformation, tympanostomy tube(s) at study entry, middle ear pathology other than otitis media, and neurological disorders.
Some 186 patients met the eligibility criteria and were enrolled in the study. The median age of the study group was 3.4 years; 62% were male. Chronic otitis media was present in 74% of the children, recurrent otitis media in 46%, and both were present in 20% of the group.
Before a child was treated, the parent or care giver was asked to assess if the child had encountered hearing problems in the previous four weeks. After treatment was given, the survey was repeated. During this time period, the children were tested by a licensed audiologist. A variety of sophisticated examinations were given: air conduction tests according to age requirements, pure tone average to determine the better hearing ear, and immittance tests (measuring the blockage within the tympanic membrane).
Results: The study revealed that parents of children with recurrent or chronic ear infections do not accurately assess their children's hearing loss. Accordingly, the authors recommend that physicians rule out the possibility of serious hearing loss by both querying the parent and having the child tested by a licensed audiologist.
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Editors Note: Reporters interested in interviewing the presenters and/or obtaining additional information regarding the medical research should contact Ken Satterfield, Director of Media Relations, American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery, at (703) 519-1563 (prior to May 8); or at COSM (through May 14), phone (561) 653-6332.
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