Genetic hearing loss in a group of 900 children

An early identification of preverbal deafness in infancy is the most effectivetherapeutic tool for the rehabilitation of language impairment. 996 children sere esamined by Electrcochleography in the Audiology Department of Ferrara University. 809 subjects are affected by sensoryneural loss and among these 786 have a threshold greater than 50 dB nHL.42.4 % were diagnosed and habilitated above 3 years of age. Genetic causes and unknowns were respectively 24.2% and 25.7%. A large proportion of the genetic group (31%) were hearing impaired with added disabilities, such as SNC, eye, integumentary or musculoskeletal diseases. 27% of cases presented malformations, 9% due to a known syndrome. Central nervous system disorders were more often associated with perinatal causes than to genetic causes