Dr Peter Carew1,2, Dr Daisy Shepherd1,2, Libby Smith2, Qi Rui Soh2, A/Prof Valerie Sung1,2,3
1The University Of Melbourne , Parkville, Australia, 2Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Parkville, Australia, 3Royal Children’s Hospital, Parkville, Australia
The outcomes of children early identified with “non-target” hearing losses are understudied when compared to children born with a moderate or greater hearing loss in both ears. This presentation highlights the role that well-constructed databanks can play in building our understanding across multiple areas of childhood development.
We describe the language and health-related quality of life outcomes for children with unilateral and mild bilateral congenital hearing loss from a community-based sample in Victoria, Australia. All children were early identified via universal newborn hearing screening and enrolled in the Victorian Hearing Longitudinal Databank (VicCHILD). Enrolment in this population-based databank is independent of early intervention engagement or amplification choices.
We present outcomes cross-sectionally at three points across child development: 2 years, 5-7 years and 9-12 years of age, drawing upon data from approximately 400 children. We describe outcomes by degree of loss and include children with unilateral auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder. In doing so, this presentation contributes a contemporary description of language and quality of life outcomes for children early identified with unilateral and mild bilateral loss at timepoints representing early development, entry to primary and secondary schooling.
Biography:
Dr Peter Carew is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology at The University of Melbourne and a post-doctoral researcher at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. Peter holds a Master in Clinical Audiology, PhD and Graduate Certificate in University Teaching. pcarew@unimelb.edu.au or peter.carew@mcri.edu.au