Will my child require a hearing aid?
Any patient with full bilateral aural atresia has at a minimum a 55 dB bilateral hearing loss. Normal levels of conversation are typically 40 to 50 dB which is quieter than the level that a person with bilateral aural atresia can hear at. Therefore, it is almost impossible for a child with bilateral aural atresia to develop normal speech and language without some type of hearing device.
The two types of hearing aids most commonly available all patients with are Bone Conduction Hearing Aid (BCHA) or a Bone Anchored Hearing Appliance (BAHA®) device. The California Ear Institute is currently investigating other implantable hearing devices that treat both conductive and sensorineural hearing loss in patients with Atresia.
A more controversial area is whether a patient with unilateral atresia requires a hearing device. Many people with a unilateral hearing loss report that they have done "just fine" without any type of hearing aid or amplification. However, there are several studies that indicate that on average, both education and earning potential can be significantly adversely impacted by untreated unilateral hearing loss.
1) Children with untreated hearing impairment are eight times more likely to be held back a grade than children with normal hearing.
2) 1997 census statistics demonstrate significant disparities in employment levels and median incomes between individuals with normal hearing and those with speech or hearing impairments.
3) A 2006 report specifically focusing on untreated unilateral hearing loss concluded that households where a wage earner had an untreated hearing impairment of the level associated with unilateral atresia on average earned $8,000 less than households where the wage earners with similar education and backgrounds had normal hearing levels.
4) Untreated hearing impairment could be at the root of some ADD/ADHD and learning disability diagnoses. One study claimed that over 9% of people with symptoms resembling learning disabilities or ADHD have hearing impairments, and less than 1/4 of them were getting ongoing treatment
Reference - U.S. Census Bureau, 1997. Survey of Income and Program Participation tables.
Reference - Kochkin, S. The Impact of Untreated Hearing loss on Household Income, August 2005, Better Hearing Institute, Alexandria, VA
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