Effectiveness of Hearing Aids in Children Diagnosed with Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review.

Abstract

26 Abstract: Objective: to explore available evidence on the effectiveness of hearing aids (HAs) in children diagnosed with Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder (ANSD). Method: A systematic search was conducted on five electronic database (EMBASE, CINAHL, web of science, pubmed, and Medline) using keywords such as ‘auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder’, ‘auditory neuropathy’, ‘auditory dyssynchrony’ and ‘hearing aids’ and ‘managements’. Results: Ten studies met inclusion criteria all of which reported some benefits of using HAs in some children with ANSD. However, the outcomes varied greatly between studies. Conclusion: The available evidence of the effectiveness of HAs in children with ANSD is limited due to the low quality and paucity of studies. More high-quality, well-controlled studies and multi-centre research are needed to explore the possible effects of other factors, such as underlying pathologies, prescription strategies used and sites of lesions, on overall HA performance in this population.