1 Million Youth in America with Hearing Loss May be Left Behind, National Survey...

1 Million Youth in America with Hearing Loss May be Left Behind, National
Survey Finds; Even 'Minor' Hearing Loss Causes Major Problems

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- An estimated 1.4 million youth
have hearing loss, but only 12% wear hearing devices, according to a national
study released today by the Better Hearing Institute (BHI).

Untreated hearing loss among young people was shown to lead to social,
emotional, behavioral, and learning difficulties, according to the study.
Three out of four parents indicated their child experienced "minor" to
"serious" problems due to their hearing loss. The most serious problems
experienced were:

-- Social skills (52%)
-- Grades in school and language development (50%)
-- Emotional health (42%)
-- Relationships with peers (38%)
-- Self-esteem (37%)
-- Relationships with family (36%)

The study was conducted among a national sample of the parents of 225 youth
from infancy to age 21, all of whom were reported to have hearing loss by
their parents. Hearing loss was detected in physicians' offices (51%), school
(18%), and audiologists' offices (17%). Only 7% were identified in hospitals
through newborn screening.

Parents expressed a number of reasons why they chose not to provide hearing
devices for their children with hearing loss. The most frequent reasons
included:

-- Parents' minimized, denied, or in some instances even neglected, their
child's hearing loss.
-- Pediatricians, audiologists, family physicians or otolaryngologists
sometimes provided conflicting advice or advice based on misinformation (e.g.,
hearing aids were not needed for hearing loss in one ear or high frequency
hearing loss could not be helped with hearing aids.)
-- Three in 10 (32%) parents expressed concern about how others might perceive
their child if he/she wore hearing devices.
-- One out of five (22%) parents said they were unable to afford hearing
devices.

"Children need to be able to hear, not just in the classroom, but also because
hearing affects language competence, cognitive development, social and
emotional well-being, and academic achievement," said Sergei Kochkin, Ph.D.,
executive director of BHI. "Children who cannot hear well -- that is, when
their hearing loss is untreated or under-treated -- could face a life of
underperformance and broken dreams."

The scientific literature is clear that untreated hearing loss affects nearly
all dimensions of the human experience. And the pediatric literature
demonstrates that even children with "minimal" hearing loss are at risk
academically compared to their normal hearing peers.

"Based on our findings, I am concerned that a sizeable population of young
people in America is being left behind because they do not fit existing
paradigms of hearing disability," said otolaryngologist Dr. William Luxford of
the House Ear Clinic, a BHI Board member and co-author of the study. "We need
a fundamental re-examination of the current hearing health policies and
protocols influencing America's children with hearing loss."

The authors of this study, which also included Dr. Jerry Northern(Professor
Emeritus at the University of Colorado School of Medicine), Pam Mason(Director
of Audiology professional practices at the American Speech-Language-Hearing
Association) and Dr. Anne Marie Tharpe(Professor of Audiology at the
Vanderbilt School of Medicine) concluded that specific issues that should be
addressed include:

1. Do educators, medical doctors, and hearing healthcare professionals
systematically overlook the needs of young people with minor or moderate
degrees of hearing loss?

2. Is the prevalence of treatable hearing loss among children
under-represented in the United States when subjective methodology (e.g.
parental awareness) is used to assess hearing loss? Objective research
indicates that more than 10% of children may have early evidence of noise
induced hearing loss.

3. Are pediatricians sufficiently trained on audiological diagnostic
techniques and hearing device solutions to accurately measure hearing loss in
children and to advise parents on appropriate treatment options?

4. Do parents have viable options of paying for hearing aids for their
children if they cannot personally afford them?

5. Is there a way to mitigate the negative perception of hearing aids in the
schoolroom?

6. How can we strengthen audiological advocacy to assure that infants failing
newborn screenings receive timely follow-up for their hearing loss?

Founded in 1973, BHI is a not-for-profit educational organization whose
mission is to educate the public about hearing loss, its treatment and
prevention.
To download a copy of the study, "Are 1 Million Dependents in America with
Hearing Loss Being Left Behind?" or to download a copy of "A Guide to Your
Child's Hearing" visit the BHI website at http://www.betterhearing.org.

SOURCE Better Hearing Institute

Fabia D'Arienzo, +1-540-668-7665, for Better Hearing Institute