Academic Journal
Can schools detect mild hearing loss? Evaluating screening accuracy and feasibility.
| Τίτλος: | Can schools detect mild hearing loss? Evaluating screening accuracy and feasibility. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Robler SK; Center for Hearing Health Access, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, 72205, USA; Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, 72205, USA. Electronic address: skrobler@uams.edu., Stewart J; Center for Hearing Health Access, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, 72205, USA; New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, Jonesboro, AR, 72401, USA., Reaves C; Center for Hearing Health Access, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, 72205, USA., Platt A; Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27710, USA; Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Duke School of Medicine, Durham, NC, 27705, USA., Arthur D; Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27710, USA; Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Duke School of Medicine, Durham, NC, 27705, USA., Turner EL; Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27710, USA; Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Duke School of Medicine, Durham, NC, 27705, USA., Miller A; Center for Hearing Health Access, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, 72205, USA; Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, 72205, USA., Hirschfeld M; Southcentral Foundation, Anchorage, AK, 99508, USA., Emmett SD; Center for Hearing Health Access, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, 72205, USA; Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, 72205, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, 72205, USA. |
| Πηγή: | International journal of pediatric otorhinolaryngology [Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol] 2026 Aug; Vol. 207, pp. 112849. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 May 12. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article; Observational Study |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Elsevier Scientific Publishers Country of Publication: Ireland NLM ID: 8003603 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1872-8464 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 01655876 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: Limerick : Elsevier Scientific Publishers Original Publication: [Amsterdam] Elsevier/North-Holland. |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Audiometry, Pure-Tone*/methods , Hearing Loss*/diagnosis , Hearing Loss*/epidemiology , Mass Screening*/methods, Adolescent ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Alaska ; Feasibility Studies ; Prospective Studies ; Rural Population ; Schools ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Severity of Illness Index |
| Περίληψη: | Objectives: We evaluated the feasibility and diagnostic accuracy of screening at lower levels to detect mild hearing loss in rural school settings in Alaska. Methods: In this prospective, observational diagnostic accuracy study, we compared performance of two pure-tone hearing screening levels (15 dB and 20 dB) against a benchmark audiometric evaluation using the former (PTA >25 dB) and updated (PTA ≥20 dB) World Health Organization (WHO) definitions of hearing loss. Results: Among 318 children, a greater proportion screened positive at 15 dB than at 20 dB (18.6% vs 13.8%). Benchmark audiometry using the updated WHO definition identified mild hearing loss or greater in 4.8% of children. Sensitivity was higher for the 15 dB screen than the 20 dB screen (85.0% vs 75.0%), whereas specificity was lower (90.8% vs 94.3%). Screening at 15 dB yielded 21 more false positives and two fewer false negatives than screening at 20 dB. The updated WHO definition (PTA ≥20 dB) identified more children with mild hearing loss than the former definition (PTA >25 dB). Conclusions: Screening at 15 dB increased sensitivity and identified more children with mild hearing loss using the updated WHO definition. This improvement came with a higher number of false positives, however, highlighting the need for affordable, reliable screening technologies capable of detecting mild hearing loss in school environments with ambient noise. Use of the updated WHO definition (PTA ≥20 dB) appears better suited to identify children at risk for preventable noise- and infection-related hearing loss. (Copyright © 2026. Published by Elsevier B.V.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise. |
| Grant Information: | R01 DC020026 United States DC NIDCD NIH HHS |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Alaska; Hearing loss; Rural health; School screening; WHO hearing screening guidelines |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260603 Date Completed: 20260717 Latest Revision: 20260820 |
| Update Code: | 20260820 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.ijporl.2026.112849 |
| PMID: | 42236333 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1872-8464 |
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| DOI: | 10.1016/j.ijporl.2026.112849 |