Management of Infants Suspected to be Deaf

Abstract

Fourty infants under two years of age who were suspected to be deaf by their parents were examined during a period from October, 1970 to March, 1972. Out of the fourty patients, six were under one year of age and included two with unilateral congenital meatal atresia, one who had severe neonatal Jaundice and one with severe retardation of mental and physical developments. Follow-up studies demonstrated that they had normal hearing at least. on one side of the ears. Out of the remaining 34 infants, who were one year old, 27 were found of profound deafness, while in seven patients a definite diagnosis was hardly warranted because of uncertain responses to acoustic stimuli. But it was demonstrated by follow-up studies that three of the seven infants had no hearing impairment but mental retardation, one cerebral palsy associated with profound deafness, one profound deafness associated with severe mental retardation, one moderate deafness associated with auditory agnosia, and one had no abnormalities except for profound deafness.
These findings suggest that the younger the child is, the more longterm observations are required to make a definite diagnosis, because responses to acoustic stimuli are more sophisticated by various factors in younger children.
Finally, a new method for early diagnosis of deafness using a developmental scale of hearing devised in our clinic on the basis of normal infants' responses to social sounds in a daily life was described.