1999 Volume 40 Issue 4 Pages 314-319
Among hearing-impaired children receiving auditory training at our clinic, self-injury and stereotypy such as head banging, hair plucking and grinding were seen in 13 of 110 cases. In almost every case, these behaviours began to occur from 6 to 12 months of age and were observed in hearing-impaired children having other impairments, especially optic disorder, rather than those having hearing impairment only. These behaviours disappeared or decreased in patients using hearing aids. Therefore, it was thought that hearing aids should be used even in hearing-impaired children who have developmental disabilities that would prevent them from acquiring speech. It was presumed that these behaviours are caused by alienation of mother-infant interaction. If these behaviours are checked at the 1-year-6-month-old health examination, we may be able to detect infants with hearing impairments.
