An audiological profile of a cohort of school-aged children with HIV and AIDS attending an antiretroviral clinic in South Africa.
Vuyelwa Z Peter, Jessica Paken, Lavanithum Joseph
PMID 32370522WHAT IT FOUND
Sixteen of 28 South African children with HIV and AIDS who completed pure-tone testing had hearing loss, mostly mild and conductive.
Caregivers suspected loss in 13 children, and 24 had never had a hearing assessment.
Key findings
01Of the 28 children who completed pure-tone testing, 16 had hearing loss in one or both ears, and 12 had bilateral hearing loss.
02Mild hearing loss was the most common degree, seen in 12 children, and conductive hearing loss was the predominant type, seen in eight children.
0315 children had reported speech-language milestone delays, and 24 had never had an audiological assessment despite reported ear pathology.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study used convenience and consecutive sampling at one urban public antiretroviral clinic, so it may not represent other South African children. The sample was small, with 30 children recruited. The study was descriptive and did not test whether HIV, antiretroviral treatment or other conditions caused the hearing loss. Several children could not complete parts of the test battery: two could not be conditioned for pure-tone testing, five could not be tested by immittance because of discharge, and twelve could not have otoacoustic emissions tested because of outer or middle-ear pathology. The paper gives an age range of 6 to 12 years but also a mean age of 4.3 years, so the age description is inconsistent. Only 28 of 30 children completed pure-tone audiometry, and some electrophysiological results were based on fewer children. The primary investigator worked at the study site during data collection.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that HIV or antiretroviral treatment caused the hearing loss, or that these rates apply to all South African children. The study was descriptive, used convenience sampling, and many children could not complete all tests.