Late diagnosis of congenital hearing impairment in children: The parents' experiences and opinions

The purpose of the present investigation is to describe how parents experie nce a delayed identification of their child's hearing impairment. Ten paren ts of 8 children were interviewed. The impairment was confirmed when the ch ildren were between 2 years, and 5 years and 8 months. The results show tha t the parents and their child pass through a series of distinct phases: Una wareness, Suspicion, Confirmation and Habilitation. After the birth of the child there was first a calm period, which lasted until the possibility of a hearing impairment was suspected. Once the suspicion was raised, a time o f much anxiety and frustration ensued. The parents described how defective communication and misunderstanding lead to frequent conflicts with their ch ild. The differing behaviour of the child, in combination with poor languag e development, initiated referral to audiological assessment and confirmati on of the hearing impairment. After confirmation, the parents felt relief b ut at the same time a sorrow. When hearing aids had been fitted and educati on in sign language was under way, the child's language and social behaviou r improved. Supposedly, the late detection is explained by the combination of an insufficient test method that cannot detect all children with a heari ng impairment and, in cases of uncertainty, a tendency to let the child pas s rather than "bringing bad news". All parents in the present study would h ave wished to participate in a hearing screening program for new-borns, had the opportunity been present. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All r ights reserved.