A stepwise approach to the diagnosis and treatment of hereditary hearing loss

The pediatrician can play a major role in the diagnosis, workup, and treatm ent of hereditary hearing impairment. Armed with the proper degree of suspi cion, careful elicitation of family history, meticulous physical examinatio n, evaluation of the audiogram, and adequate fund of knowledge of common ty pes of genetic deafness, the pediatrician can make a timely diagnosis and a ppropriate referrals. Early detection and intervention are best done with a multidisciplinary team approach. In the future, blood tests using genetic probes may be available to screen for many types of hereditary hearing impa irment.