Progressive hearing loss in children: hearing aids and other factors.

A sample of 20 children monitored for progressive hearing loss combined with 25 progressive loss cases were obtained. The effects of hearing aid use on progressive loss were examined in the context of etiology and other factors, particularly the time relations between hearing aid application and the period of progression. Results indicate a limited role played by hearing aids in progressive hearing loss. Hearing aid use was not implicate in 30 (69%) of the progressive loss subjects, questionably implicated in nine (20%), and probably implicated in five (11%). In the identification and monitoring of progressive hearing loss, it is unwise to conclude that hearing aid use is the cause of the deterioration without considering all other plausible factors.