title: Children younger than 4 years of age, referred to an audiological department.
abstract: This investigation was performed in order to evaluate why and by whom children less than or equal to 4 years of age were referred to the regional audiological department in Copenhagen: and in addition to describe the audiological investigation and the obtained results in relation to the relevance of the referral. One hundred and forty consecutive first time referred children, 92 males and 48 females, at a median age of 28 months, range 2-49, were included. Of them 71.4% were referred from the general practitioners or local ENT doctors, while only 9.3% were examined on the parents' self-request. The parents were the first to raise suspicion of a hearing loss in 60%, which differs significantly from the 32% correctly found in professionals. The rate of false positive suspicion was similar in the two groups. Forty-nine % of the referred children suffered from hearing impairment, predominantly due to otitis media with effusion. Only 9% of the children were able to perform a pure-tone audiogram. A frequency of 2.9% of children with congenital/early acquired hearing loss was found and a delayed identification demonstrated. The investigation shows that the parents are more efficient in their observation of children concerning hearing loss than professionals, and that the prevalence of "true audiological children" is so restricted that the pediatric audiological services should be centralized and form part of the health hearing service offered to the hearing-impaired. In addition was found that the special equipment and expertise needed for audiological evaluation in young children is used fairly relevantly.
authors.affiliation: Department of Audiology, Bispebjerg Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Parving
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Christensen
mesh_terms: D001298:Audiology; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D002675:Child, Preschool; D012048:Correction of Hearing Impairment; D003638:Deafness / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000534:rehabilitation; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006310:Hearing Aids; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006314:Hearing Loss, Conductive / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000534:rehabilitation; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000534:rehabilitation; D006748:Hospital Departments; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010036:Otolaryngology; D010290:Parents; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012017:Referral and Consultation