Mass hearing screening in kindergarten students.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the types of hearing losses identified by mass hearing screenings in the public school system.


METHODS
Prospective observational.


METHODS
Students enrolled in kindergarten in the public school system.


METHODS
Major metropolitan area.


METHODS
(1) hearing screening tests performed by speech pathologists using an audiometer in a quiet room; (2) formal audiologic testing including pure tone audiometry, tympanograms, speech discrimination, and acoustic impedance testing in a sound proof booth.


RESULTS
140 students failed hearing screening on two separate occasions; 91(65%) underwent formal audiologic testing at Milwaukee Public School, 43% demonstrated conductive hearing losses, 14% demonstrated sensorineural losses and 43% demonstrated normal hearing.


CONCLUSIONS
Mass hearing screening in the school system (1) is useful for detecting transient conductive hearing losses, (2) detects a significant number of sensorineural hearing losses and (3) has a very poor follow-through by the families of those students identified with hearing loss through the screening program.
Flanary
V A
VA
Medical College of Wisconsin, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Milwaukee 53226, USA.
Flanary
C J
CJ
Colombo
J
J
Kloss
D
D
D000158:Acoustic Impedance Tests / Q000379:methods; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone / Q000379:methods; D002648:Child; D002656:Child Day Care Centers; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006314:Hearing Loss, Conductive / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013334:Students