Tharpe Anne Marie, Sladen Douglas P
Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville 37232-8242, Tennessee.
Trends Amplif. 2008 Mar;12(1):17-25. doi: 10.1177/1084713807313085.
Children with permanent unilateral or mild bilateral hearing loss have been a focus of concern by audiologists, educators, and physicians for at least 2 decades. These children are known to be at risk for psychoeducational difficulties. However, despite this concern, little has been learned about the causative factors of these hearing losses and how those factors might be contributing to child development. This review of known causes of permanent unilateral and mild bilateral hearing loss in children is meant to draw attention to the importance of the search for etiologic factors. That is, the identification of the hearing loss should not signal the end of the diagnostic process but, rather, the beginning of a search for causation. With the combined efforts of audiologists, otolaryngologists, pediatricians, geneticists, and other medical professionals, we may enhance our understanding of the primary causes of unilateral and mild bilateral hearing loss and, perhaps, create links between causative factors and psychosocial and psychoeducational outcomes.
至少20年来，永久性单侧或轻度双侧听力损失儿童一直是听力学家、教育工作者和医生关注的焦点。众所周知，这些儿童存在心理教育方面的困难风险。然而，尽管存在这种担忧，但对于这些听力损失的致病因素以及这些因素如何影响儿童发育，我们了解甚少。本文对儿童永久性单侧和轻度双侧听力损失的已知病因进行综述，旨在提请人们注意寻找病因的重要性。也就是说，听力损失的确诊不应标志着诊断过程的结束，而应是寻找病因的开始。通过听力学家、耳鼻喉科医生、儿科医生、遗传学家和其他医学专业人员的共同努力，我们或许能够加深对单侧和轻度双侧听力损失主要病因的理解，并有可能在致病因素与心理社会及心理教育结果之间建立联系。
