Biomedical subjects

I M Psarommatis

Publications and source records attributed to I M Psarommatis.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Hearing loss in speech-language delayed children.

An infant begins to communicate with his/her environment from the first months of life. However, true words do not appear until the age of 12-15 months, following a rather predictable sequence. Delay or failure of normal language development is not a rare situation in childhood and may be due to a variety of reasons. Among these, hearing undoubtedly plays a leading part in the language acquisition process. The purpose of this study was to assess the percentage of hearing-impaired children in a group of phenotypically healthy children presenting with speech-language delay. Between March 1993 and March 1999, 726 speech-language delayed children were examined in our department. In 72 of them, various diseases or syndromes had already been diagnosed and so they were excluded from the study. The remaining 654 apparently healthy children entered the study and underwent a thorough audiological assessment for determination of their hearing thresholds. Eighty-seven children (13.3%) showed various degrees of hearing loss. Most of them (55 children, 8.4%) suffered from sensorineural hearing impairment, while in 32 children (4.9%) a conductive hearing loss was discovered. The increased prevalence of hearing impairment found in our population mandates a thorough hearing evaluation for every case of speech-language delay, even for those children who show no evidence of other handicaps. This will help in the early diagnosis of hearing loss, allowing proper management to be instituted as early as possible.

Audiometry↗

PubMed2001

Towards a universal newborn hearing screening.

Hearing loss is a common problem which, if remaining undetected during early childhood, could affect the patient's linguistic and mental abilities permanently. Although recommended, mass hearing screening has so far been problematic or even impossible due to several reasons. The available otoacoustic emission devices appear to be effective tools for universal hearing screening. The aim of this study is to evaluate the reliability and practicability of a new device for recording click-evoked otoacoustic emissions (cEOEs) on a pediatric population. Sixty children aged between 6 days and 14 years were evaluated audiologically both by auditory brainstem responses (ABR) and otoacoustic emissions. The latter were obtained by using the well-known ILO88v3.92 otoacoustic analyser and a new, portable device ('Echocheck', Otodynamics Ltd, UK). Sensitivity and specificity of cEOEs recorded by 'Echocheck'was found to be 93% and 91%, respectively, when compared to ABR results. Additionally, 'Echocheck' recordings were proved to be much easier to perform, needing considerably less time in comparison with those of the ILO88 system. In our opinion, 'Echocheck' as well as all similar portable devices--screeners--may represent a much-desired solution for implementing universal hearing screening programmes.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

PubMed2001

Incidence of hearing loss among children presented with speech-language delay.

Infants' first attempts to communicate with their environment begin shortly after birth. However, real words appear by age of 12-15 months. Any delay in expressing their needs verbally beyond this age is defined as speech delay and may be associated with a variety of pathological conditions. The aim of this study is to investigate the incidence of hearing impairment in those children presented with speech delay. Ninety-one speech-delayed children were audiologically assessed between March 1993 and March 1995. In 25 out of 91 children (27.4%) a moderate to severe hearing loss was detected, either sensorineural or conductive. The increased incidence of hearing impairment found in this group mandates a thorough hearing evaluation for any case of speech-language delay.

Child↗

PubMed1999

Otoacoustic emission-based hearing screening of a Greek NICU population.

The pressing need for early identification of hearing-disabled children has led to the development of several neonatal hearing screening programmes world-wide. Today otoacoustic emissions represent a widely used methodology for identification of neonatal hearing impairment. The purpose of the present study is to determine the sensitivity and specificity of click-evoked otoacoustic emissions (cEOAEs) in a Greek NICU population and compare the cEOAE data to the final hearing status of these children. A total of 438 ears of 223 neonates at high risk for hearing impairment were tested with both brainstem response audiometry (ABR) and cEOAEs. In 107 neonates the final hearing status was determined by using behavioural and playtone audiometry, at an age greater than 2 1/2 years. The sensitivity and specificity of the cEOAEs were found to be 90 and 92.4% when compared to ABR results and 90.9 and 91.1% when compared to the children's hearing status, respectively. Click-EOAEs have been proved to be highly effective in determining whether or not hearing impairment really exists. Since conventional ABR does not meet the requirements for large scale screening programmes, the cEOAEs represent a reliable alternative.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

PubMed1997

Profound hearing loss and presence of click-evoked otoacoustic emissions in the neonate: a report of two cases.

Evoked otoacoustic emissions using click stimulus (cEOEs) were recorded in 450 consecutive children over a 12-month period. Of this group, 102 were babies treated in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), classified as High Risk neonates according to the criteria of the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing. Audiologic examination in the latter was completed by auditory brainstem responses (ABR). Two of the neonates showed a profound hearing loss accompanied by strong cEOEs. The two cases are described and discussed together with the possibilities and limitations of transient evoked otoacoustic emissions in the auditory screening of the neonatal population. Despite the reported rare possibility of pure retrocochlear disorders, when cEOEs are used for neonatal screening purposes there is an actual risk of missing a profound hearing loss. Nevertheless, the use of cEOEs in combination with ABR may contribute to the differential diagnosis between cochlear and retrocochlear lesions.

Acoustic Stimulation↗