Audiological profile of deaf and hard-of-hearing children under six years old in the “HI HOPES cohort” in South Africa (2006–2011)

Background:This study concerns deaf children under six years in the South African HI HOPES Cohort.Objective:To examine their audiological profile, aetiological risk factors for infant hearing loss as well asthe relationship between identification, amplification and socio-economic influences.Design:Using a cohort design, secondary data analysis of a pre-existing dataset demonstrated adequaterepresentation of South African demographic characteristics.Study sample:A total of 532 deaf and hard-of-hearing infants enrolled in the HI HOPES early interven-tion programme in three provinces (2006–2011).Results:The median age of identification of children with bilateral hearing loss (n¼502) was 24.0 months(IQR¼12–36months). Infants with aetiological risk factors were identified later than those without riskfactors, and the latest age of identification (28.5 months) was for those with three aetiological risk factors(n¼42). The median age of amplification was 32 months with 102 children eligible for amplification at31.1 months still unamplified. Early identification did not imply early amplification, and the more econom-ically advantaged a Province the smaller the gap between ages of identification and amplification.Conclusions:In a field with little population-level evidence, the size, and representativeness of this data-set makes a significant contribution to our understanding of infant hearing loss in South Africa