Pediatric Hearing Aids Grand Rounds

Recorded December 3, 2015

Duration: Two hours

Presenters: Marlene Bagatto, AuD, PhD; Thomas Evans, AuD; Ryan McCreery, PhD; and Patricia Roush, AuD

CEUs: .2

Who Should Attend: Any audiologist wanting information about current trends in pediatric hearing aids

Instructional Level: Intermediate
Program Focus: Knowledge

Learner Outcomes: Upon completion, each participant in the eAudiology Web seminar will be able to:

• 1. Outline candidacy for amplification for children with minimal/mild bilateral hearing loss
• 2. Explain candidacy concepts based on speech acoustics and the SPLogram
• 3. Access the risk(s) associated with fitting certain asymmetrical hearing losses
• 4. Identify the red-flags at which a change in treatment may be recommended
• 5. Implement a protocol for monitoring hearing aid use in children
• 6. Describe some of the challenges associated with the provision of amplification to children with fluctuating, progressive and asymmetric hearing loss.
  7. List potential benefits and limitations of available amplification options for children with fluctuating or asymmetric hearing loss.

Description: This grand rounds eAudiology Web seminar will include presentations by four professionals experienced in Pediatric Audiology:

Case 1: This case will review hearing aid candidacy considerations for children with minimal/mild bilateral hearing loss in children. It will be based on a recently developed decision support guide.

Case 2: Audiologists all understand the fundamentals regarding the importance of binaural hearing and how it impacts the development and performance of children who are hearing impaired.However, there is always exception to a rule. Children with asymmetrical hearing loss are significantly at risk for poorer outcomes and it is imperative that audiologists be aware of the red flags that may indicate a change in the treatment plan. The case presented will demonstrate the difficulties that audiologists and patients experience with asymmetrical hearing loss.The case will also illustrate the impact of focusing on monaural hearing versus binaural hearing.

Case 3: The amount of aided audibility provided by a hearing aid and the amount of hearing aid use have the potential to moderate the amount of benefit children receive from hearing aids. In this illustrative case, the influence of audibility and hearing aid use on auditory development outcomes will be demonstrated for young children who wear hearing aids.

Case 4: Children with fluctuating, progressive or asymmetric hearing loss present unique challenges for families and audiologists. Careful monitoring of hearing and reassessment of amplification strategies as hearing changes and as the child grows are essential in order to achieve optimal outcomes. This case will describe some of the strategies that were useful for a child with fluctuating, progressive and asymmetric hearing loss from infancy through the teenage years.

Marlene Bagatto, AuD, PhD is an Adjunct Research Professor at the National Centre for Audiology at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada. Her research interests have a clinical focus and relate to fitting hearing aids to the pediatric population. Dr. Bagatto has given numerous presentations and workshops as well as published several articles on the topic. She led the development and evaluation of a system for monitoring functional outcomes for infants, toddlers and preschool children who wear hearing aids. This work is ongoing and complements her efforts in the development of protocols for the management of children with permanent hearing loss as well as research to evaluate their outcomes. In addition, Dr. Bagatto provides clinical services to infants involved in the Ontario Infant Hearing Program at the H.A. Leeper Speech and Hearing Clinic at Western. She also serves as an Amplification Consultant and Instructor for the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services' Infant Hearing Program.

Tommy Evans, AuD is a Pediatric Audiologist III at Cincinnati Children's Medical Center and serves as hearing aid program coordinator.He has 11 years of pediatric experience in working with children who are hearing impaired or deaf.He received his Doctorate of Audiology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and completed his pediatric training at the University of Tennessee & Cincinnati Children's Medical Center.Dr Evans has special interests in pediatric amplification, hearing aid validation methodologies, patient outcomes, student development, and process & quality improvement methodologies.

Ryan McCreery, PhD is the Director of the Center for Audiology at Boys Town National Research Hospital.His research explores the factors that affect development and speech understanding in children who wear hearing aids.

Patricia A. Roush, AuD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and Director of Pediatric Audiology at the University of North Carolina Hospitals, where she specializes in working with newly identified infants and young children with hearing loss and their families. Dr. Roush has published extensively in pediatric audiology and has lectured nationally and internationally on a variety of topics related to hearing loss in children. Her primary areas of interest are pediatric hearing assessment and amplification and auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder.