Follow-Up of 40 000 Infants Screened for Hearing Defect

Abstract

During a 7-year period beginning in 1967, approximately 40 000 infants born in Jerusalem were screened for hearing impairment. The hearing of all infants who visited the well-baby clinics at the age of 7-9 months (85% of the child population) was tested and a set of selective criteria was applied to them to detect the children at risk of hearing impairment. Those children suspected of having a hearing impairment were followed up at the Speech and Hearing Center of the Hadassah University Hospital. 69 children were identified as having substantial hearing impairment (moderate to profound); the distribution of risk factors among them is presented. Rehabilitation was carried out from infancy to preschool age, at which time the children were enrolled in suitable educational frameworks. The role of the parents was crucial. At the age of 6 years, many of the hearing-impaired children were integrated into the elementary school system; others attended the School for the Deaf or special institutions. The distribution of the hearing-impaired children in the various school systems is discussed.

De 1967 à 1974, nous avons effectué des tests de dépistage de la surdité chez 40 000 nourrissons aˇgés de 7-9 mois, amenés dans des dispensaires à l'occasion des visites de santé systématiques (pour 85% de la population totale). 69 enfants atteints de surdité (moyenne à profonde) furent ainsi identifiés et la répartition parmi eux des divers facteurs de risque fut notée. Ces enfants reçurent une éducation préscolaire (le rôle des parents apparut crucial). Puis, à l'âge de 6 ans, beaucoup d'entre-eux furent intégrés dans une école normale; d'autres furent pris en charge par l'école des sourds ou des institutions spécialisées. Nous discutons les résultats des différents moyens d'éducation.

Key Words:

• ‘At risk’
• Follow-Up
• Integration