Study aims to reduce child hearing loss

A new study involving two researchers in the School of Medicine could help children born with hearing loss across the country.

The study will focus on how mild to severe hearing loss affects a child's speech language and ability to learn.

The results should provide information on what factors such as putting hearing aids on newborn infants" make a difference in creating a successful life for a child.

""We know that hearing is very important. It has an effect on a child's whole life"" Patricia Roush, director of pediatric audiology in the Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, said.

We want to make sure that we are taking the right steps for them to have a good outcome.""

And while previous studies in the field have focused on children with severe to profound hearing loss" theirs will focus on children with mild to severe hearing loss.

These are children whose speech would still be negatively effected without hearing aids Roush said.

Until the year 2000 when North Carolina began screening the hearing of newborn infants" children with mild to severe hearing loss might not have been identified until they reached school age.

Now even infants can be fitted with hearing aids.

""The hearing aids are excellent and tiny. We can put them on babies less than a month old"" said Melody Harrison, a professor of speech and hearing sciences in the Department of Allied Health Sciences who is also working on the project.

But it's only been within the last few years"" and we still don't know whether kids who we identify early do well or do not do well.""

The $8.9 million" five-year study will follow 450 N.C. children aged 6 months to 9 years.

It is funded by a grant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Other studies will be done in conjunction with the University of Iowa and Boys Town National Research Hospital in Nebraska.

 Harrison and Roush plan to begin within the next few months.

Researchers will define the children's success through measures like language vocabulary academics social skills and family satisfaction. Data will be gleaned from grades in school" standardized language measures and interviews.

Harrison and Roush said they hope others can use their conclusions to develop and modify programs for kids with mild to severe hearing loss.

""Given the right kind of support those kids can be successful"" Harrison said. There's every reason that they should be able to do well.""



Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.