title: Early definition of type, degree and audiogram shape in childhood hearing impairment.
abstract: In the context of permanent childhood hearing loss, early audiological diagnosis is a prerequisite for activation of an adequate rehabilitation program to prevent or limit the known effects that auditory deprivation determines on language development and cognitive skills in neonates. Audiological diagnosis consists schematically of three phases: identification of subjects at risk, definition of hearing loss and/or children features, verification of appropriateness of diagnosis itself and a rehabilitation programme. Strategies and methods of audiological diagnosis are well defined and include an integration of data coming from objective methods with clinical and behavioural data. Although the substantial effectiveness of procedures and a general consensus on their use and interpretation have been defined, there are several critical issues concerning the achievement of this objective, which will be discussed in this paper.
authors.affiliation: Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Otorhinolaryngology Catholic University of the Sacred Heart "A. Gemelli" Hospital, Rome, Italy;
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Conti
authors.affiliation: Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Otorhinolaryngology Catholic University of the Sacred Heart "A. Gemelli" Hospital, Rome, Italy;
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gallus
authors.affiliation: Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Otorhinolaryngology Catholic University of the Sacred Heart "A. Gemelli" Hospital, Rome, Italy;
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Fetoni
authors.affiliation: Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Otorhinolaryngology Catholic University of the Sacred Heart "A. Gemelli" Hospital, Rome, Italy;
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Martina
authors.affiliation: Audiology and Otolaryngology Unit, Institute for Maternal and Child Health, IRCCS "Burlo Garofolo", Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Muzzi
authors.affiliation: Audiology and Otolaryngology Unit, Institute for Maternal and Child Health, IRCCS "Burlo Garofolo", Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Orzan
authors.affiliation: Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Otorhinolaryngology Catholic University of the Sacred Heart "A. Gemelli" Hospital, Rome, Italy;
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bastanza
mesh_terms: D003638:Deafness / Q000175:diagnosis*; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006320:Hearing Tests; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015997:Neonatal Screening
keywords: ABR; Auditory pathways maturation; Early audiological diagnosis; Infant hearing impairment; SWOT analysis; Universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS)