Efficacy of earphones for 12- to 24-month-old children during visual reinforcement audiometry

Abstract

Objective: Efficacy of insert and supra-aural earphones during visual reinforcement audiometry (VRA) was investigated for 12- to 24-month-old children. Design: VRA testing began in the soundfield and transitioned to either insert or supra-aural earphones. Audiologists recorded threshold estimates, participant behaviors, and an overall subjective rating of earphone acceptance. Study sample: One hundred and eighty-six 12- to 24-month-old children referred to the Department of Audiology at St. Louis Children’s Hospital for a variety of reasons. Results: Subjective ratings indicated high acceptance of insert earphones (84%) and supra-aural earphones (80%) despite negative behaviors. There was no significant difference in the number of threshold estimates based on earphone type for 12- to 17-month-old participants. Participants in the 18- to 24-month-old age group provided significantly more threshold estimates with insert earphones (mean = 5.3 threshold estimates, SD = 3.5) than with supra-aural earphones (mean = 2.9 threshold estimates, SD = 2.9). All seven participants who rejected earphone placement were successfully reconditioned for soundfield testing. Conclusions: Data support the use of insert earphones during VRA, especially with 18-to 24-month-old children, to obtain ear-specific information.

Key Words:

• Visual reinforcement audiometry
• insert earphones
• supra-aural earphones
• hearing assessment
• young children
• pediatrics

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the dedicated staff of the Department of Audiology at St. Louis Children’s Hospital for their time spent recruiting and testing participants: Julie DuBois, Cheryl Faust, Valerie Greene, Nicole Harmann, Sue Hayashi, Robin Hudson, Pam Koprowski, Kristina Kuhlman, Lauren Ragnetti, and Kelly Taylor.

Declaration of interest

The authors declare no known conflicts of interest.