Hearing level in children with Down syndrome at the age of eight

• Published in: Research in developmental disabilities Vol. 34; no. 7; pp. 2251 - 2256
• Main Authors: Austeng, Marit Erna, Akre, Harriet, Falkenberg, Eva-Signe, Øverland, Britt, Abdelnoor, Michael, Kværner, Kari Jorunn
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Ltd 01-07-2013; Elsevier
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Child; Chromosome aberrations; Craniofacial syndromes; Cross-Sectional Studies; Down syndrome; Down Syndrome - physiopathology; Ear, auditive nerve, cochleovestibular tract, facial nerve: diseases, semeiology; Female; Hearing loss; Hearing Loss, Conductive - physiopathology; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural - physiopathology; Hearing Tests; Humans; Male; Medical genetics; Medical sciences; Non tumoral diseases; Otorhinolaryngology. Stomatology; Prevalence; Hz; Prevalence; Craniofacial syndromes; dB HL; Down syndrome; kHz; PTA; DS; Hearing loss; Chromosomal aberration; Human; Trisomy; Auditory disorder; Aneuploidy; Developmental disorder; Epidemiology; Hearing; ENT disease; Perception; Craniofacial; Child; Age; Public health
• ISSN: 0891-4222; 1873-3379
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2013.04.006

•Hearing loss may cause developmental delay and learning difficulties.•We studied children with Down syndrome at the age of eight, born 2002 in Norway.•One third of the children have a bilateral hearing impairment according to the WHO definition of 25dB in the best hearing ear.•We suggest that the children were under-diagnosed although published guidelines emphasize close follow up.
This study examines the prevalence of hearing loss in children with Down syndrome at the age of 8. All children were examined in the ENT-departments of public hospitals in Norway and the study population consisted of children born in Norway in 2002 with Down syndrome. Hearing loss was defined as pure-tone air-conduction reduction by on average more than 25dB HL in the best hearing ear. A cross sectional clinical and audiological population based study was chosen as study design.
Hearing loss more than 25dB HL in the best hearing ear was found in 17/49 children (35%). Mild hearing loss was found in 13 children (26%), moderate in 3 (6%) children and severe hearing loss in 1 child (2%). Conductive hearing loss was found in 8 children (16%), 9 children (18%) had a sensory-neural hearing loss, and mixed hearing loss was found in 3 children. Mean hearing level among boys and girls were 30.0dB HL (SD 15.7) and 25.5dB HL (SD13.7) respectively, a non-significant difference (p=0.139).
In conclusion this study indicates that both conductive and sensorineural hearing loss, is still common in children with Down syndrome children at the age of eight and as much as two thirds of the children may have a bilateral impairment. The study population was under diagnosed in terms of hearing loss and thus our findings underline the importance of continuous audiological follow up of this group of children throughout childhood.