Pediatric Audiology & Counseling Flashcards

A 3-year-old with unilateral sensorineural hearing loss has normal hearing in the left ear. What is the PRIMARY concern for this child in an educational setting?

Answer: Difficulty localizing sound and understanding speech in noise

Children with unilateral hearing loss are at significant risk for difficulty with sound localization and speech understanding in noisy, reverberant classroom environments.

Which feature of a pediatric hearing aid fitting is assessed using real-ear-to-coupler difference (RECD) measurements?

Answer: Differences between the child's ear canal acoustics and a standard 2-cc coupler

RECD quantifies how a child's ear canal volume and acoustics differ from a standard coupler, allowing coupler measurements to be transformed to real-ear estimates.

In the context of family-centered early intervention, which professional behavior BEST demonstrates this approach?

Answer: The audiologist and family collaboratively set goals based on family priorities

Family-centered care requires shared decision-making in which the family's values, priorities, and goals guide the intervention plan.

A newborn passes the OAE screen at birth but is later diagnosed with progressive sensorineural hearing loss at 18 months. Which condition most likely explains this presentation?

Answer: Connexin 26 (GJB2) progressive hearing loss or CMV-related hearing loss

Connexin 26 mutations and congenital CMV are common causes of late-onset or progressive sensorineural hearing loss that can be missed by newborn OAE screening.

Which behavioral observation is MOST consistent with normal auditory development in a 4-month-old infant?

Answer: Quieting or startling to loud sounds

At 4 months, infants are expected to quiet, startle, or blink in response to loud sounds; localization to sound typically emerges around 6 months.

When counseling a family considering cochlear implantation for their 14-month-old, what is the MOST evidence-based statement the audiologist can make?

Answer: Earlier implantation during critical auditory development periods yields better speech and language outcomes

Research consistently shows that earlier cochlear implantation, particularly before 12–18 months, is associated with significantly better speech and language development.

A 5-year-old with hearing aids scores poorly on the HINT (Hearing in Noise Test) despite good aided thresholds. The MOST appropriate next step is:

Answer: Evaluate for auditory processing disorder and consider remote microphone technology

Poor speech-in-noise performance despite adequate aided thresholds warrants evaluation for auditory processing difficulties and trials of remote microphone systems.