S. Bellman et al., EVALUATION OF THE E2L TOY-TEST AS A SCREENING-PROCEDURE IN CLINICAL-PRACTICE, British journal of audiology, 30(4), 1996, pp. 286-296
Early identification of hearing loss in young children is essential in
order to avoid the potentially disabling effects of deafness. This ne
cessitates effective screening measures with proven positive predictiv
e value (McCormick 1977, 1988; Mahon et al., 1993). Previous studies (
Marcuson et al., 1988; Bellman and Marcuson, 1991) have indicated that
the E2L Toy Test, designed as a word discrimination test for evaluati
ng the hearing of children who have English as a second language (E2L)
, could be such a measure. The results of diagnostic audiological test
ing, including the E2L test, are reported in 264 children. Comparison
of E2L results with audiometric testing shows the E2L test to have a s
ensitivity of 87% and specificity of 90% in identifying children with
an average hearing threshold of greater than 25 dB HL (and 78% sensiti
vity: 94% specificity where the average hearing threshold level is abo
ve 20 dB HL). This is the case for both E2L children and for children
whose first language is English, suggesting that the E2L Toy Test woul
d be useful in hearing screening test batteries throughout the UK. The
results of screening hearing using the E2L Toy Test in 500 children a
ged 2-7 years from a wide geographical area in the UK are also present
ed.