Fethullah Kenar

Incidence of auditory neuropathy among the deaf school students

OBJECTIVE We aimed to determine the incidence of auditory neuropathy (AN) among the deaf school students that have severe hearing loss. METHOD All students having severe hearing loss constituting a total of 75 at Deafness school in Afyon Province of Turkey were enrolled in the study. The etiological factors about the hearing loss were determined by performing an individual file survey and by interviewing the teachers and parents. First, all the children were subjected to an otolaryngologic examination. Then, auditory brainstem response (ABR) and transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE) tests were done to all students enrolled in the study. RESULTS The ages of the children were between 6 and 17 (mean age 11.9) and 32 (42.9%) of them were girls and 43 (57.1%) were boys. Three cases (4%) were diagnosed as AN in our study, however, no risk factors were determined in two of them. A history of hearing loss following a vaccination was found in only one patient. CONCLUSION Our data show that the incidence of AN in the children with severe hearing loss is not negligible. Therefore, our results suggest that automatic ABR should be also used with OAE as a routine application in the neonatal screening programmes, since the solely use of OAE in the neonatal screening programmes may result in the delay of the diagnosis of the children with AN.

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Language and speech are natural tools for communication. Loss of hearing causes multiple problems, results in a decrease in life quality and psychosocial regression, depressive symptoms and communication failures. For situations when medical and/or surgical approaches to eliminate or reduce the effects of hearing loss do not succeed, hearing aid devices are an option. The aim of this paper is to determine the problems with usage of hearing aids by adults and to offer possible solutions. The selection of the type and model of a hearing aid device in a way to meet individual requirements is a critical step. An efficient hearing aid application is expected to be more beneficial when supported by an audiological rehabilitation. The problems encountered in usage of hearing devices in adult stage are not only physical factors but can also be individual factors. Lately the digital hearing devices are gaining popularity and utilisation problems are encountered quite less but still many problems are waiting to be solved. To minimise the problems encountered with usage of hearing aids in society, healthcare professionals advising hearing aids should have a better training and equipment, number of disciplines focusing on hearing devices should be increased and all related parties (government agencies, healthcare workers advising hearing aid devices, device suppliers) should follow developments in the field closely. It is expected for all the parties to find a common ground and aim for maximum benefit from the audiological rehabilitation of individuals with hearing loss.