Observation of development milestones during hearing testing of toddlers: Preliminary analysis

During pediatric audiometry besides evaluation of the hearing threshold, non-acoustic behavior can be observed. This retrospective study evaluates the feasibility and diagnostic value of standardized developmental observations conducted during audiometric testing of toddlers. The observations were categorized into symbolic, language and individuation development domains across six age groups from 9 months to >36 months. In total 94 standardized observation forms with 37 children with confirmed hearing loss and 57 children with typical hearing across all six age groups have been recorded. This preliminary analysis includes 21 children in the age group from 18–24 months. Only few children demonstrated fully age-appropriate developmental profiles. Children with hearing loss showed age related symbolic development e.g., “smile of mastery” likely due to early intervention, while delays were noted in language and individuation domains. Children with typical hearing showed age-appropriate language development but delays in symbolic and individuation domains. The study concludes that standardized developmental observations by trained audiometrists are feasible during audiometric testing and potentially contribute for the diagnostic evaluation process.