Medical Sciences
| Open Access |
DOI: Parental Awareness and Early Detection of Pediatric Hearing Loss: A Clinician’s Perspective on Community Education Strategies
Sarah Fredj , Audiologist for Audio Logique , USAAbstract
Pediatric hearing loss remains an underestimated public health concern, despite its significant impact on children’s language development, academic performance, and emotional well-being. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 15% of children aged 6 to 19 experience some level of hearing loss, many of whom are diagnosed late—sometimes well after entering school [1]. Although newborn hearing screening programs are in place, a major gap persists in parental awareness, which remains a critical factor in the continuum of early detection and intervention. Clinical experience and research underscore that empowering parents through community-based education is not only effective, but essential to improving children's health trajectories [2][3].
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References
CDC. (2020). Hearing Loss in Children. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/hearingloss/data.html
ASHA. (n.d.). Effects of Hearing Loss on Development. https://www.asha.org/siteassets/ais/ais-hearing-loss-development-effects.pdf
WHO. (2016). Childhood Hearing Loss: Strategies for Prevention and Care. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/childhood-hearing-loss-strategies-for-prevention-and-care
Moeller, M. P. (2000). Early intervention and language development in children who are deaf and hard of hearing. Pediatrics, 106(3), E43.
Yoshinaga-Itano, C. et al. (1998). Language of early- and later-identified children with hearing loss. Pediatrics, 102(5), 1161–1171.
Rahmanian, K. et al. (2016). Kids2Hear: A community-based hearing screening program for children. Journal of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, 45(1), 23.
Rodrigues, A. B. et al. (2014). Peer education on hearing health: assessment of knowledge in schoolchildren. Revista CEFAC, 16(4), 1274–1284.
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