Diagnostic delay in deafness - the effect of active case finding.
Impaired hearing, sensorineural or conductive, was detected in 464 (25 per cent) of the 1,876 children tested during visits with a mobile hearing clinic in rural northern Ontario. Seven severe to profoundly deaf preschool children were identified; expected prevalence in this population is 5--10 preschoolers. Three older children (7--15 years of age), also, were found to have severe to profound deafness that previously had been undetected. Previously, initial identification of severe sensorineural hearing loss in this age group in these areas was at an average age of 30 months. Since visits by the clinic this is 18 months. Conductive hearing losses that had inhibited learning were identified earlier than the reported average (6.4 years vs 5.3--9.0 years of age). Follow-up has shown more effective management of conductive hearing loss since visits by the clinic. Few rural Ontario communities with populations under 10,000 have adequate surveillance for hearing problems. The goal of The Hospital for Sick Children's Mobile Hearing Clinic is to identify early all children with hearing problems and to speed the introduction of a better program for the recommendation and fitting of hearing aids, including proper counselling in the use of amplification.
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003638:Deafness / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006314:Hearing Loss, Conductive / Q000175:diagnosis; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008403:Mass Screening; D008952:Mobile Health Units; D009864:Ontario; D011641:Public Relations; D013997:Time Factors