2001 Volume 44 Issue 3 Pages 147-155
A group of 154 children (303 ears) with sensorineural hearing impairment were followed up to identify the prevalence and the correlated factors of deterioration of their hearing after long-term follow up. Of 303 ears, ninety-one ears (30%) demonstrated more than 15dB progression in two or more adjacent frequencies. Frequent deterioration was observed at higher frequencies, including 2kHz (30%), 4kHz (25.4%), and 8kHz (26.5%). In audiometric configuration, the patients who showed “abrupt” shape of hearing had higher risk of deterioration although “gradually sloping” audiogram was most common among all study participants. The presumptive etiology of 77 subjects (50%) with sensorineural hearing loss were unknown. The deterioration was most frequent in hereditary and congenital causes, but no specific causes could be related to progressive hearing impairment.
