The Effectiveness of the School-Age Hearing Screening Program in Turkey and the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The aim of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the hearing screening program in school-age children in Turkey, and to discuss alternative methods for children who cannot be screened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Within the scope of the school-age hearing screening program, children who fail the screening are referred to reference centers. The effectiveness of the screening program was investigated by recording the ear examinations and definitive audiometric examination results of the children who were referred to a tertiery-level center. Evaluations were made of a total of 87 children, comprising 49 boys (56.3%) and 38 girls (43.7%) with a mean age of 6.97 years, and no risk factors for hearing loss. The physical examination results showed that 53 children were normal, 15 had cerumen impaction, 3 otitis externa, 13 otitis media with effusion and 3 acute otitis media. The audiometric examination results were recorded as 72 normal, 13 conductive hearing loss, and 2 sensorineural hearing loss. Thus, the false positive rate of screening audiometry performed at school was 82.7%. School-age hearing screening is an important test to ensure the cognitive and academic development of children. Pure tone audiometry is indispensable in the evaluation of children who fail the test. For the evaluation of children who could not be tested for 1.5 years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, alternative methods such as tele-audiometry may be utilized.

Keywords

• Audiometry
• child
• COVID-19
• hearing
• screening

References

1. 1. Govender S, Latiff N, Asmal N, Ramsaroop S, Mbele T. Evaluating the outcomes of a hearing screening service for grade one learners in urban areas at Durban, South Africa. J Public Health Africa 2015; 6: 529.
2. 2. Warner-Czyz AD, Loy BA, Evans C, Wetsel A, Tobey EA. Self-esteem in children and adolescents with hearing loss. Trends hear 2015; 19: 2331216515572615.
3. 3. Skarżyński H, Piotrowska A. Screening for pre-school and school-age hearing problems: European Consensus Statement. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 2012; 76: 120-121.
4. 4. World Health Organization. Childhood hearing loss: strategies for prevention and care. Geneva. Available at: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/childhood-hearing-loss-strategies-for-prevention-and-care 2016 (Accessed on October 17, 2019)
5. 5. Harris MS, Dodson EE. Hearing health access in developing countries. Curr Opin Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2017; 25: 353-358.
6. 6. Tasci Y, Muderris I, Erkaya S, Altinbas S, Yucel H, Haberal A. Newborn hearing screening programme outcomes in a research hospital from Turkey. Child Care Health Dev 2010; 36: 317-322.
7. 7. Papacharalampous GX, Nikolopoulos TP, Davilis DI, Xenellis IE, Korres SG. Universal newborn hearing screening, a revolutionary diagnosis of deafness: real benefits and limitations. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2011; 268: 1399-1406.
8. 8. Salcan S, Salcan İ, Ateş I. The Evaluation of Newborn Hearing Screening Results in the Erzincan Gazi Training and Research Hospital. J Adv Med Med Res 2018; 27: 1-4.

9. 9. Kaplama ME, Ak S. The results of hearing screening in refugee school children living in Şanliurfa/Turkey and the related risk factors. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 2020; 134: 110041.
10. 10. Skarżyński PH, Świerniak W, Gos E, Pierzyńska I, Walkowiak A, Cywka KB, et al. Results of hearing screening of school-age children in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Prim Health Care Res Dev 2020; 21: e18.
11. 11. Jacob A, Rupa V, Job A, Joseph A. Hearing impairment and otitis media in a rural primary school in South India. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 1997; 39: 133-138.
12. 12. Yılmaz Ö, Yakıncı C, Karataş E. Malatya il merkezi okul çağı çocuklarda işitme taramaları. Cocuk Sagligi ve Hastaliklari Dergisi. 2018; 61: 59-66.
13. 13. Korver AM, Konings S, Dekker FW, Beers M, Wever CC, Frijns JH, et al. Newborn hearing screening vs later hearing screening and developmental outcomes in children with permanent childhood hearing impairment. JAMA 2010; 304: 1701-1708.
14. 14. Skarzynski P, Kochanek K, Skarżyński H, Senderski A, Wysocki j, Szkielkowska A, et al. Hearing screening program in school-age children in Western Poland. Int Adv Otol 2011; 7: 194-200.
15. 15. Śliwa L, Hatzopoulos S, Kochanek K, Piłka A, Senderski A, Skarżyński PH. A comparison of audiometric and objective methods in hearing screening of school children. A preliminary study. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 2011; 75: 483-488.
16. 16. Botasso M, Sanches SGG, Bento RF, Samelli AG. Teleaudiometry as a screening method in school children. Clinics 2015; 70: 283-288.
17. 17. Choi JM, Lee HB, Park CS, Oh SH, Park KS. PC-based tele-audiometry. Telemed J E Health 2007; 13: 501-508.
18. 18. Samelli AG, Rabelo CM, Sanches SG, Aquino CP, Gonzaga D. Tablet-based hearing screening test. Telemed J E Health 2017; 23: 747-752.