Early diagnosis and treatment of unilateral or asymmetrical hearing loss in children: CODEPEH recommendations

Abstract

The aim of this document is to improve the management and the treatment of unilateral or asymmetrical hearing loss in children. One in one thousand newborn infants has unilateral hearing loss and this prevalence increases with age, due to cases of acquired and delayed-onset hearing loss. Although the impact on the development and learning processes of children of these kinds of hearing loss have usually been minimized, if they are not treated they will impact on language and speech development, as well as overall development, affecting the quality of life of the child and his/her family. The outcomes of the review are expressed as recommendations aimed at clinical diagnosis and therapeutic improvement for unilateral or asymmetrical hearing loss.

Keywords: Asymmetrical hearing loss; Audición binaural; Binaural hearing; Calidad de vida; Discapacidad auditiva; Hearing disability; Hearing processing; Hipoacusia asimétrica; Hipoacusia unilateral; Procesamiento auditivo; Quality of life; Unilateral hearing loss.