PROGRESSIVE HEARING-LOSS IN CHILDREN TREA TED WITH HEARING-AIDS

Background: The possibility of hearing aid induced deterioration was f irst described in 1939 (Berry 1939, Holmgren 1939). Since then numerou s studies discussed this problem controversely. However, it is undispu ted that in cases of profound sensorineural hearing loss in childhood powerful hearing aids are necessary for maturation and auditory and sp eech development. An increase of progressive sensorineural hearing los s in the last three years in children with profound sensorineural hear ing loss fitted with hearing aids (2 children in 1993, 6 children in 1 996) drew our attention to this problem. Method: Over a period of four years, we collected the data of 16 children with progressive hearing loss. Results: The comparison of the duration of the hearing aid use s ince fitting and the maximum output level fail to explain this increas e. Moreover our strategy in hearing aid fitting remained unchanged dur ing this period especially with regard to SSPL max. We also performed an analysis of the childhood disorders associated with the sensorineur al hearing losses. This analysis provided no further information for t he increase of hearing loss. Conclusion: There is no evidence that pow erful hearing aids damage hearing and induce progressive sensorineural hearing loss in childhood. Therefore we believe that there is no need to change our hearing aid fitting strategy particulary with regard to the maximum output level up to 135 dB SPL measured in situ. The incre ase in the number of progressive cases in the last two years indicates the necessity of further investigations in this field.