Early hearing health intervention is crucial. And children, like the rest of us, are at risk for hearing loss. This is especially true for children with certain disabilities such as cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, autism and intellectual disability, who are at a greater risk for hearing impairments and who may need extra support in their intellectual development.

Despite this, a recent study published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders reported that children with developmental disabilities are less likely to access a gold-standard hearing assessment in the first three months of hearing care compared to children without disabilities. This study, which reviewed data from three different hospitals in the United States between 2008 and 2018, found that children with developmental disabilities were nearly four times more likely not to access proper hearing assessment than children in the comparison group.

There are a variety of barriers to access to hearing assessment that are at play. Auditory brainstem response (ABR) and audiogram, the current methods of measuring hearing, are based on the assumption of typical development. For instance, they may require a child to perform specific age-appropriate behavioral tasks to indicate that a sound has been heard. But for children with disabilities, these tasks may not be developmentally appropriate. Or, for a physiological measure like ABR, their disability may make it unsafe to use sedation as per gold standard. These barriers may lead to delays in diagnosis and appropriate interventions. 

These alarming data underscore a need for creating appropriate hearing testing methods and hearing assessment guidelines for children with developmental disabilities in order to ensure they receive the care they need to thrive.