Adam C King, Abby Frazier, Krystal L Werfel, Emily Lund
{"title":"Balance performance in children who are deaf and hard of hearing.","authors":"Adam C King, Abby Frazier, Krystal L Werfel, Emily Lund","doi":"10.1159/000545482","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Hearing loss impacts children's ability to learn language and motor skills. This study examined the postural control differences between children who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) and typical hearing (TH), who differ in language and literacy performance, across diverse balance tasks.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Thirty-three children between the ages of six and 13 performed a battery of balance tasks evaluating postural control and mobility. Twenty-six children were classified as DHH, while seven were TH children. Children participated in an extended battery of language and literacy measures, not unlike an intense academic day schedule. Assessments of postural control were conducted during a pre- and post-fatigue state.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Children who are DHH exhibited lower degrees of balance than TH children across the clinical, static, and dynamic balance evaluations.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our findings provide evidence of robust balance impairments for children who are DHH beyond standard clinical evaluations. Fatigue effects induced by testing had a greater impact on TH than DHH children, which may be related to chronic fatigue traits in DHH children. Overall, the results underscore the importance of characterizing balance impairments of children with hearing loss and determining the degree of impact on activities like academics.</p>","PeriodicalId":55432,"journal":{"name":"Audiology and Neuro-Otology","volume":" ","pages":"1-17"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Audiology and Neuro-Otology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000545482","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"AUDIOLOGY & SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Introduction: Hearing loss impacts children's ability to learn language and motor skills. This study examined the postural control differences between children who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) and typical hearing (TH), who differ in language and literacy performance, across diverse balance tasks.
Methods: Thirty-three children between the ages of six and 13 performed a battery of balance tasks evaluating postural control and mobility. Twenty-six children were classified as DHH, while seven were TH children. Children participated in an extended battery of language and literacy measures, not unlike an intense academic day schedule. Assessments of postural control were conducted during a pre- and post-fatigue state.
Results: Children who are DHH exhibited lower degrees of balance than TH children across the clinical, static, and dynamic balance evaluations.
Conclusions: Our findings provide evidence of robust balance impairments for children who are DHH beyond standard clinical evaluations. Fatigue effects induced by testing had a greater impact on TH than DHH children, which may be related to chronic fatigue traits in DHH children. Overall, the results underscore the importance of characterizing balance impairments of children with hearing loss and determining the degree of impact on activities like academics.
期刊介绍:
''Audiology and Neurotology'' provides a forum for the publication of the most-advanced and rigorous scientific research related to the basic science and clinical aspects of the auditory and vestibular system and diseases of the ear. This journal seeks submission of cutting edge research opening up new and innovative fields of study that may improve our understanding and treatment of patients with disorders of the auditory and vestibular systems, their central connections and their perception in the central nervous system. In addition to original papers the journal also offers invited review articles on current topics written by leading experts in the field. The journal is of primary importance for all scientists and practitioners interested in audiology, otology and neurotology, auditory neurosciences and related disciplines.