Slight-Mild Sensorineural Hearing Loss in Children: Audiometric, Clinical, and Risk Factor Profiles

Abstract

Slight-mild SNHL had a prevalence of 0.88% among the school-aged population sampled, with the majority of these children exhibiting bilateral, symmetrical audiometric configurations. Conventional risk factors for hearing loss were not strongly predictive of slight-mild SNHL nor were parental concerns about the child's hearing ability. The association between slight-mild SNHL and the parent report of personal stereo use suggests that this type of noise exposure may be a risk factor for acquired hearing loss. This seems to be the first documentation of such an association in a large sample of young children.