The importance of early diagnosis of hearing impairment in children
The normal functioning of the organ of hearing is of crucial importance for the overall development of a person, as the auditory analyzer is one of the main channels through which a person receives information about the surrounding world. Unfortunately, recently the number of children with congenital hearing defects has increased.
A hearing loss can make it difficult for a child to get a good education and a career, but this does not mean that such a child cannot achieve the same things as children with normal hearing. Children begin to learn from the first minutes of life, look for connections with the surrounding world with the help of sight, hearing, and muscles. This is laid by nature. Oral speech should be formed on the basis of skills programmed before birth. But if the baby does not hear his own speech and the speech of other people, then by the age of 1.5 years, vocal reactions fade away, babbling and babbling, from which oral speech has little to grow, disappear without feeling correction from the brain. The body compensates for the lack of auditory sensations with visual, muscular, and tactile analyzers. They also need attention and development. Even with minor residual hearing, it is possible to teach a child to pronounce words correctly - muscle sensations from the organs of speech and conscious control of them help the brain in this.
According to scientific studies, most children have congenital hearing defects. But in Ukraine, only a part of deaf children are found under the age of three or four. Often, parents notice some deviations in the child's reactions and behavior, but attribute them to the special character of the child, hoping that he will "outgrow" this peculiarity and continue to develop normally. However, this is practically impossible. Hearing loss leads to a delay in language and intellectual development, communication skills, which are extremely difficult to overcome at school age.
In this regard, the early detection of hearing disorders using modern diagnostic methods and the correct assessment of the potential capabilities of the auditory system become important. Diagnosis should be carried out by an otolaryngologist-audiologist, since the success of all subsequent hearing rehabilitation measures, and then the successful learning process, depends on the diagnosis and correct assessment of the hearing function.
All methods of early hearing research in children can be conditionally divided into four groups.
1. Techniques based on the registration of various manifestations of the unconditional orientational reflex to sound.
2. Conditional reflexive techniques.
3. Techniques based on the registration of electrical signals that arise as a response to certain irritation in various departments of the auditory system.
4. Registration of otoacoustic emission.
The main purpose of the hearing test is to establish the minimum sound intensity perceived by the child. Therefore, the most sensitive methods should be used for conducting research.
The methods of unconditional orientational reflex to sound are not very sensitive. In order to receive an expressive response from the child, a sound intensity that exceeds normal hearing thresholds by 60 - 70 dB is required. But despite the low sensitivity of the method, it can be used in cases where it is necessary to establish whether the child hears or not.
Conditional-reflex methods are more sensitive, with their help you can register the deviation of sound perception thresholds from the norm by only 20-30 dB on average.
Methods of recording electrical impulses arising in the auditory system during hearing research also make it possible to register a response at a signal intensity approaching the threshold. But the great advantage of this technique is the possibility of using it to study hearing in children of any age and development.
An extremely important objective method is the registration of otoacoustic emissions. This method is based on the fact that the hair cells of the inner ear generate sound in response to sound stimulation. Using special computerized equipment, the signal-response is recorded and processed accordingly. This method is very sensitive, and its implementation takes about 3 - 5 minutes, so it can be used for screening hearing studies.
It has been established that as a result of auditory training in children, speech intelligibility improves significantly. Thus, with the accumulation of auditory experience, the mechanisms of the reserve capabilities of the child's residual hearing are mobilized. Therefore, for the successful rehabilitation of deaf children, it is necessary to ensure their constant perception of surrounding sounds with the help of modern hearing aids or personal hearing systems.
In Western countries, there are already state programs for early diagnosis and rehabilitation of children with hearing impairments. The main goal of these programs is to provide hearing-impaired children with the opportunity to learn about the world around them and communicate with them according to the same laws of age-related development as children with normal hearing.
In Ukraine, the problem of early detection of hearing loss is becoming increasingly urgent and needs to be resolved as soon as possible.
It is believed that early diagnosis and rehabilitation should begin before the child is 6 months old. The initiator of the implementation of the program of early diagnosis and rehabilitation of children with hearing impairments is the Aurora Hearing Rehabilitation Center (Kyiv). It was here that modern equipment for objective research of the state of auditory function from the Interacustics company (Denmark) appeared for the first time in Ukraine. Today, the Center has already accumulated sufficient experience in clinical methods of researching the state of hearing in infants. Parents bring young children from different parts of our country for examination on this equipment. In November 2001, the Aurora Hearing Rehabilitation Center organized the first conference in Ukraine, “Some Aspects of Reducing the Impact of Hearing Loss on the Quality of Human Life: Early Diagnosis and Intervention,” which was attended by otolaryngologists and deaf educators from Ukraine and audiologists from Canada.
The Center’s specialists can also share their experience in rehabilitation work with children, which is carried out in the Center’s hearing and speech department. The deaf educators have managed to create their own unique methods, taking into account the best achievements of deafology.
The effectiveness of these methods has been proven in practice. Over the 10 years of the Aurora Hearing Rehabilitation Center’s existence, thousands of patients have received hearing aid there, a third of whom are children.