Introduction to the Longitudinal Outcomes of Children with Hearing Impairment (LOCHI) study: Background, design, sample characteristics

Abstract

Objective: This article describes the background and the design of the longitudinal outcomes of children with hearing impairment (LOCHI) study, and the characteristics of the study cohort. Design: Children born between 2002 and 2007 who were identified with hearing loss and received audiological intervention by 3 years of age in Australia enrolled in the study. Their demographic characteristics are described. Study sample: Four hundred and fifty-one children in New South Wales, Victoria, and Southern Queensland. Results: Data on age at first hearing-aid fitting for different degrees of hearing loss are reported together with demographic characteristics of the cohort. Conclusion: A unique environment in Australia where all children with varied access to universal newborn hearing screening received the same consistent hearing services from a national hearing service provider makes it possible to investigate the effects of access to early auditory intervention on children's outcomes at a population level.

Key Words::

• Children with hearing loss
• outcomes
• early intervention
• universal newborn hearing screening

Acknowledgements

We gratefully thank all the children, their families and their teachers for participation in this study. Conception and design of the study was contributed to by Linda Cupples and Henrik Dahl. The HEARing CRC partners that collaborated with NAL on the LOCHI study include The Catherine Sullivan Centre, Cochlear Implant Clinic of the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, Hear and Say Centre, Matilda Rose Early Intervention Centre, Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children, St Gabriel's School for Hearing Impaired Children, The Shepherd Centre, and Sydney Cochlear Implant Centre.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflict of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

The project described was partly supported by Award Number R01DC008080 from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders or the National Institutes of Health. The authors acknowledge the financial support of the HEARing CRC, established and supported under the Cooperative Research Centres Program – an Australian Government initiative, and the Australian Department of Health.