Hearing impairment and development — formative SAQs

SAQ 1 (10 marks)

Parents of an 8-month-old receive diagnostic confirmation of bilateral severe sensorineural hearing loss after a newborn refer. They ask you to “finish all the blood tests first” before hearing aids. ^[3]

1. Why is delaying amplification until aetiology testing is complete the wrong priority? (3) ^{[3] [1]}
2. List five components of the first-month management plan. (5) ^{[3] [4]}
3. What outcome message is evidence-aligned without false certainty? (2) ^{[4] [1]}

Model answer

Language access is time-critical in early life; earlier identification/intervention programmes improve communication outcomes on average. Aetiology tests should run in parallel, not block devices. ^{[1] [3]}

Plan: fit hearing aids promptly; enrol family-centred early intervention; ENT/audiology coordination; discuss implant pathway candidacy where appropriate; start indicated aetiology evaluation; support family coping and teach device use; schedule close review of hours-of-use and communication. ^{[3] [4]}

Message: earlier access supports better spoken language trajectories for many children (including CI candidates in cohort data), but individual outcomes vary and need ongoing team care — no guarantee of “normal speech,” no nihilism either. ^{[1] [4]}