Identification of Hearing Loss in Pediatric Patients with Down Syndrome

Abstract

Objective. To determine the type of hearing loss, incidence of the lost to follow-up rate, and the time to diagnose sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in children with Down syndrome (DS) identified from a statewide database. Study Design. Case series with chart review. Setting. Pediatric referral center. Subjects and Methods. Three hundred forty-four patients with DS born in Utah between January 2002 and December 2006 were identified using the Utah Department of Health’s Newborn Hearing Screening database and birth defects registry. Results. Three hundred thirty-two patients were included in the study. Eighty-seven infants (26.2%) did not pass their newborn hearing screening (NBS). Thirty-three of these children (37.9%) had a conductive hearing loss attributed to serous otitis media. Five infants had SNHL; 3 children were diagnosed with a mixed hearing loss (MHL). The average time to diagnose a sensorineural hearing loss was 485 ± 601 days. One child who passed his NBS was subsequently found to have an SNHL. More than 43% of the newborns with DS who passed their NBS developed a conductive hearing loss requiring insertion of ventilation tubes. Eighty-four percent of newborns with DS who did not undergo NBS did not have any apparent subsequent audiologic testing. Conclusion. Patients with DS present with a relatively high incidence of conductive hearing loss, MHL, and SNHL and a higher lost to follow-up rate compared to patients without DS. The authors were not able to diagnose SNHL within the 90-day period recommended by the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing.