Preschool hearing screening: evaluation of a parental questionnaire.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the validity of a parental questionnaire used to screen preschool children for persistent hearing impairment.


METHODS
Six-hundred and eighty-five children aged 4-5 years from a Metropolitan area of Adelaide, Australia, were enrolled. Each parent completed a questionnaire aimed at detecting parental concerns about hearing impairment. Screening audiometry was then performed. Children who failed the initial audiometry screening underwent repeat audiometry screening 6-8 weeks later. The audiometry and questionnaire data were then compared.


RESULTS
Of the 657 children who successfully completed initial audiometry, 544 (83%) passed and 113 (17%) failed. Of the 84 children who had follow-up audiometry, 64 (76%) passed. Parental concerns were identified on questionnaire in 50% of all children. Neither individual questions nor the number of concerns were found to relate to audiometry results. Compared with audiometry results, the hearing screening questionnaire had a sensitivity of 56% and specificity of 52%.


CONCLUSIONS
The hearing questionnaire used in this study and in several Australian states is an ineffective screening test for detecting persistent hearing loss.
Hammond
P D
PD
Child Health Research Institute, Women's and Children's Hospital, North Adelaide, SA, Australia.
Gold
M S
MS
Wigg
N R
NR
Volkmer
R E
RE
D001299:Audiometry; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires