Children At-Risk For Hearing Impairment: A Retrospective Study Of The Ontario Infant Hearing Program Population

There is widespread agreement that infant hearing screening programs are effective but such programs may fail to detect all hearing impairment and children can develop subsequent hearing loss after passing the initial screen. This is the core rationale for surveillance programs that are analyzed in this thesis. Infants with hearing risk factors are followed using surveillance programs that include monitoring by audiological assessment. The study population in this thesis consists of 2,390 children with normal hearing and 248 children with hearing impairment from different referral routes. The Infant Hearing Program Surveillance group is 1.48% of the number of hearing-impaired children. The thesis methodology identifies children with at least one risk factor and then analyzes the different referral routes and hearing loss features. It concludes that there is a need for further evaluation and improvements in surveillance programs, as well as all parts of screening and habilitation.