A new study finds kids with mild to severe hearing loss, who are fitted with hearing aids, have better speech and language development, especially if its done early on. This study shows that even with a mild hearing loss long-term use of hearing aids and consistent use shows that they do well with speech and language development more so than if you did not give them hearing aids, Dr. Samantha Anne said. University of Iowa researchers followed 176 three and five year old children. All experienced some level of hearing loss and were fitted with hearing aids. They found better language and speech development among all of the kids when compared to kids without hearing aids. In fact, even children with mild hearing loss benefited and the earlier the hearing loss was detected, and the hearing aid was used, the better the outcome. Researchers say the findings support early hearing aid fitting for all levels of hearing loss. Dr. Anne agrees. The early time period is crucial, so getting these hearing aids on early gets the hearing close to perfect, as much as possible, to give them the best opportunity for normal speech and language development, she said. Complete findings for this study are available online in the journal Jama Otolaryngol Head and Neck Surgery.
Posted on: Sun, 22 Jun 2014 04:37:32 +0000
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