Grant: Project Grant

Permanent hearing loss affects 2-4 per 1000 children and usually interferes with typical language acquisition. Newborn hearing screening has been implemented worldwide to give children with hearing loss a better start in life. Almost half of children present with a milder hearing loss (mild loss in both ears or loss in one ear) at initial diagnosis. Prior to screening, these children were identified late and many experienced difficulty in school. Our recent research shows that screening lowers the average age of identification of these losses from 5 years to 9 months of age. We have also shown that up to a third of children with hearing loss experience deterioration in hearing. Our work suggests that in the preschool years, most early-identified children with milder loss are developing listening and language skills at a similar rate to their normal hearing peers but with delays in some language areas. However, the longer-term course of milder loss and its impact on later learning in elementary school remains unknown. Therefore, there is considerable uncertainty about whether screening programs should try to detect and treat these losses in early childhood. Study Plan. This research will extend our current research through two projects: 1) Project 1- we will continue to collect population data on all children with mild/unilateral loss identified in the Ottawa area to examine changes in hearing, and costs related to their management. Adding to our 13-year dataset, we will accumulate detailed information about milder hearing loss on 300 children by study completion. 2) Project 2 - we will continue to follow a group of 105 children (63 hearing loss, 42 normal hearing) from our preschool study through the elementary school years to determine whether hearing loss impacts language, reading and social functioning. This study will provide detailed information about the consequences of mild/unilateral hearing loss and therefore guide clinical care and decision-making.