JAAA CEU Program

Questions refer to Fitzpatrick et al, “Parent Report of Amplification Use in Children with Mild Bilateral or Unilateral Hearing Loss,” 93–102.

Learner Outcomes:

Readers of this article should be able to:

• Identify current trends in the recommendation of amplification for young children with mild bilateral or unilateral hearing loss.

• Describe the challenges and factors associated with amplification use in children with mild bilateral or unilateral hearing loss.

CEU Questions:

1. The National Workshop on Mild Bilateral and Unilateral Hearing Loss (2005) defines mild bilateral hearing loss as:

   • average pure-tone air conduction thresholds (at 0.5, 1, 2 kHz and 4KHz) between 25 and 40 dB HL

   • average pure-tone air conduction thresholds (at 0.5, 1, 2 kHz and 4KHz) between 20 and 45 dB HL

   • average pure-tone air conduction thresholds (at 0.5, 1, and 2 kHz) between 20 and 40 dB HL

2. Amplification was recommended for what proportion of children with mild bilateral and unilateral hearing loss?

   • more than 90%

   • approximately 85%

   • a little less than 50%

3. Amplification was recommended for these children at what age:

   • a little after 1 year of age

   • at 10 months of age on average

   • shortly after a median age of 6 months

4. Which statement best reflects parent report of amplification use?

   • hearing aids were inconsistently used by the majority of children

   • about 66% of all children used hearing aids consistently

   • almost 90% children with unilateral loss achieved consistent hearing aid use

5. What proportion of children with mild bilateral hearing loss used their amplification consistently?

   • less than 60%

   • more than 85%

   • more than 95%

6. During the early preschool years, how did hearing aid use change over time?

   • most children showed little or no change in their hearing aid use

   • most children discontinued use after two years

   • most children fluctuated in the amount of hearing aid us

7. Which of the following factors affected hearing aid use?

   • the education level of the mother

   • whether hearing loss was unilateral or bilateral

   • the age at onset of the hearing loss

8. Compared to children with unilateral hearing loss, after adjusting for maternal education and sex of the child, the odds for consistent amplification use in children with mild bilateral loss was:

   • almost the same

   • almost twice as high

   • almost seven times higher

9. The degree of hearing loss in the worse ear was associated with amplification recommendations for:

   • bilateral hearing loss only

   • neither bilateral nor unilateral hearing loss

   • for both bilateral and unilateral hearing loss

10. Which statement, based on this study’s findings, best reflects current trends for early-identified children with mild bilateral or unilateral hearing loss?

    • most children will be fitted with amplification

    • most children with unilateral loss will not receive amplification

    • most children will receive amplification but usually not until school age