Evolution of age at diagnosis of congenital hearing impairment

Aim of the study: To show the evolution of age at diagnosis of bilateral congenital hearing impairment according to date of birth and severity of hearing loss assessed in the better ear. Patients and methods: Retrospective study of children with hearing aids, born or living in France and examined in the ENT department for diagnosis or follow-up of congenital hearing impairment. Results: In profound deafness, median age at diagnosis fell from 50 months for children born between 1985 and 1989 to 12 months for children born between 2000 and 2004; in severe hearing impairment, from 38 to 30 months, respectively; and in moderate hearing impairment, from 85 to 40 months, respectively. Discussion: In this as in other series, age at diagnosis of bilateral congenital hearing impairment is seen to be decreasing slowly. Conclusion: In this study of children born before 2005 (i.e., before the start of the universal neonatal hearing screening program in the Paris region of France), age at diagnosis of moderate, severe or profound bilateral congenital hearing impairment remains high for the last period studied, but has fallen significantly over the last 20 years. (C) 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.