Valganciclovir in Infants with Hearing Loss and Clinically Inapparent Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection: A Nonrandomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: To assess the efficacy of valganciclovir in infants with hearing loss and clinically inapparent congenital cytomegalovirus infection (cCMV), as there is no consensus on treatment of this group.

Study Design: A nationwide, nonrandomized controlled trial, comparing 6 weeks of oral valganciclovir to no treatment in infants with cCMV, recruited after newborn hearing screening resulted in referral to an audiologist. The choice whether to treat was left to parents of subjects.

Targeted screening for congenital cytomegalovirus infection: clinical, audiological and neuroimaging findings.

Objective: To evaluate clinical, audiological and neuroimaging findings in a cohort of infants diagnosed with congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) infection after failure at newborn hearing screening.

Methods: A prospective observational study in the Netherlands, using the existing newborn hearing screening infrastructure for well babies. Between July 2012 and November 2016, cytomegalovirus (CMV) PCR testing of neonatally obtained dried blood spots (DBS) was offered to all infants who failed newborn hearing screening.

The School Career of Children With Hearing Loss in Different Primary Educational Settings-A Large Longitudinal Nationwide Study.

Children with hearing loss (HL) are at risk for a lower educational achievement. This longitudinal study compared the school career of a nationwide Dutch cohort with and without HL based on descriptive data of the governmental authority Statistics Netherlands. From 2008 to 2018, 3,367,129 children, of whom 1,193 used cochlear implants (CIs) and 8,874 used hearing aids (HAs), were attending primary and/or secondary education.

Correction: Low Empathy in Deaf and Hard of Hearing (Pre)Adolescents Compared to Normal Hearing Controls.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Systematic Evaluation of Self-Reported Hearing Ability in Six Dimensions Before and After a Hearing Aid Trial.

Purpose The aim of the study was to evaluate the application of a modified version of the Amsterdam Inventory for Auditory Disabilities and Handicap to inventory self-reported hearing difficulties pre and post hearing aid fitting in 6 dimensions: detection, speech in silence, speech in noise, localization, discrimination, and noise tolerance. Method Questionnaires pre and post hearing aid fitting were collected during regular practice of hearing aid provision. Data of 740 subjects are presented; 337 already used hearing aids, and 403 were new users.

Quality of life of children with hearing loss in special and mainstream education: A longitudinal study.

Objectives: To compare the quality of life (QoL) of children with hearing loss (HL) and children with normal hearing (NH) and to examine how the QoL of children with HL changes over time, considering language skills, type of hearing device, degree of HL, and type of education.

Methods And Materials: This longitudinal study included 62 children with HL and their parents. Developmental outcome data were collected at two time points, when the mean ages of the children were 4 and 11 years.

Evaluation of Auditory Functioning and Rehabilitation Using Patient-Reported Outcome Measures.

There is lack of a systematic approach concerning how to select an adequate hearing aid and how to evaluate its efficacy with respect to the personal needs of rehabilitation. The goal of this study was to examine the applicability and added value of two widely used self-reporting questionnaires in relation to the evaluation of hearing aid fitting. We analyzed responses, pre- and postfitting, from 1,319 subjects who completed the Client Oriented Scale of Improvement (COSI) and a slightly adapted version of the Amsterdam Inventory for Auditory Disability and Handicap (in Dutch: AVAB).

Terrible Twos or Early Signs of Psychopathology? Developmental Patterns in Early Identified Preschoolers With Cochlear Implants Compared With Hearing Controls.

Objective: Cochlear implants (CIs) have dramatically improved the lives of children who are deaf or hard of hearing; however, little is known about its implications for preventing the development of psychiatric symptoms in this at-risk population. This is the first longitudinal study to examine the early manifestation of emotional and behavioral disorders and associated risk and protective factors in early identified preschoolers with CIs compared with hearing peers.

Design: Participants were 74 children with CIs and 190 hearing controls between ages 1 and 5 years (mean age, 3.

Can You Hear What I Think? Theory of Mind in Young Children With Moderate Hearing Loss.

Objectives: The first aim of this study was to examine various aspects of Theory of Mind (ToM) development in young children with moderate hearing loss (MHL) compared with hearing peers. The second aim was to examine the relation between language abilities and ToM in both groups. The third aim was to compare the sequence of ToM development between children with MHL and hearing peers.

Missing Data in the Field of Otorhinolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery: Need for Improvement.

Objective: Clinical studies are often facing missing data. Data can be missing for various reasons, for example, patients moved, certain measurements are only administered in high-risk groups, and patients are unable to attend clinic because of their health status. There are various ways to handle these missing data (e.

Early identification: Language skills and social functioning in deaf and hard of hearing preschool children.

Objective: Permanent childhood hearing impairment often results in speech and language problems that are already apparent in early childhood. Past studies show a clear link between language skills and the child's social-emotional functioning. The aim of this study was to examine the level of language and communication skills after the introduction of early identification services and their relation with social functioning and behavioral problems in deaf and hard of hearing children.

Low empathy in deaf and hard of hearing (pre)adolescents compared to normal hearing controls.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the level of empathy in deaf and hard of hearing (pre)adolescents compared to normal hearing controls and to define the influence of language and various hearing loss characteristics on the development of empathy.

Methods: The study group (mean age 11.9 years) consisted of 122 deaf and hard of hearing children (52 children with cochlear implants and 70 children with conventional hearing aids) and 162 normal hearing children.

Symptoms of Psychopathology in Hearing-Impaired Children.

Objectives: Children with hearing loss are at risk of developing psychopathology, which has detrimental consequences for academic and psychosocial functioning later in life. Yet, the causes of the extensive variability in outcomes are not fully understood. Therefore, the authors wanted to objectify symptoms of psychopathology in children with cochlear implants or hearing aids, and in normally hearing peers, and to identify various risk and protective factors.

Self-esteem in hearing-impaired children: the influence of communication, education, and audiological characteristics.

Objective: Sufficient self-esteem is extremely important for psychosocial functioning. It is hypothesized that hearing-impaired (HI) children have lower levels of self-esteem, because, among other things, they frequently experience lower language and communication skills. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare HI children's self-esteem across different domains with those of normal hearing (NH) children and to investigate the influence of communication, type of education, and audiological characteristics.

Psychopathology and its risk and protective factors in hearing-impaired children and adolescents: a systematic review.

Importance: Pediatric hearing impairment is a chronic handicap that can potentially lead to the development of psychopathology. Yet, for hearing-impaired children and adolescents, the exact occurrence of various forms of psychopathology and its causes are unclear, while this knowledge is essential to enable targeted screenings and interventions.

Objective: To investigate the level of psychopathological symptoms in hearing-impaired children and adolescents as compared with normally hearing peers.

Behavioral problems in school-aged hearing-impaired children: the influence of sociodemographic, linguistic, and medical factors.

The purpose of this study was to examine several behavioral problems in school-aged hearing-impaired children with hearing aids or cochlear implants, compared to normally hearing children. Additionally, we wanted to investigate which sociodemographic, linguistic, and medical factors contributed to the level of behavioral problems, to pinpoint where targeted interventions can take place. This large, retrospective study included a sample of 261 school-aged children (mean age = 11.

Anxiety in children with hearing aids or cochlear implants compared to normally hearing controls.

Objectives/hypothesis: The objectives of this study were to examine the levels of anxiety in hearing-impaired children with hearing aids or cochlear implants compared to normally hearing children, and to identify individual variables that were associated with differences in the level of anxiety.

Study Design: Large retrospective cohort study.

Methods: Self-reports and parent-reports concerning general anxiety, social anxiety, and generalized anxiety disorder were used.

Depression in hearing-impaired children.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the levels of depressive symptoms and the unique contribution of two aspects of emotion regulation (coping and mood states) to the development of depression in hearing-impaired children and a control group.

Methods: In order to compare the groups, self-report questionnaires concerning symptoms of depression, coping strategies, and mood states were used. The study group consisted of 27 children with cochlear implants, 56 children with conventional hearing aids, and 117 normally hearing children.

An objective method to measure electrode independence in cochlear implant patients with a dual-masker forward masking technique.

This study introduced a dual-masker forward masking technique and evaluated whether this objective method could measure electrode independency in a cochlear implant; more particularly, whether the optimal locations and number of active electrodes could be determined. This method further enabled the investigation of the efficacy of current steering, because the proposed recording method could also be described as applying a sequentially current steered masker. The paradigm requires 5 frames involving 2 maskers and 1 probe and is referred to as the Apple Core method (MP5-AC).

Better speech perception in noise with an assistive multimicrophone array for hearing AIDS.

Objective: To evaluate the improvement in speech intelligibility in noise obtained with an assistive real-time fixed endfire array of bidirectional microphones in comparison with an omnidirectional hearing aid microphone in a realistic environment.

Design: The microphone array was evaluated physically in anechoic and reverberant conditions. Perceptual tests of speech intelligibility in noise were carried out in a reverberant room, with two types of noise and six different noise scenarios with single and multiple noise sources.