Unilateral sensorineural hearing loss in children: cognitive abilities with respect to right/left ear differences.

Thirty children (age 10 16 years) suffering from unilateral hearing loss (UHL) were matched with a control group and examined by a battery of psychological tests (verbal and non-verbal subtests) in order to investigate a possible right or left ear difference on cognitive functions. The results confirm that right ear impaired children perform significantly poorer than their left ear impaired counterparts especially in verbal subtests that are sensitive to minor input/processing damages. The data obtained suggest that right ear impaired children are at risk in the educational system.