Infant hearing loss in South Africa: age of intervention and parental needs for support.

Hearing loss is referred to as the silent, overlooked epidemic in developing countries, and data reporting the mean age of diagnosis and intervention is virtually non-existent due to limited systematic or routine screening programs. The objective of this paper is to present findings of recent practice in early diagnosis and intervention services in an urban South African context, with specific reference to parental needs for support. Data was collected by means of questionnaire surveys for 54 parents of children with congenital or early-onset hearing loss, followed by focus group discussions conducted with 10 parents.