Utility of a multidisciplinary approach to pediatric hearing loss

Abstract Introduction Because management of hearing loss (HL) often requires multiple specialists, a multidisciplinary clinic, Pediatric Hearing Management Clinic, (PHMC) was established to coordinate care for children with newly diagnosed HL. Methods Retrospective review of patients seen in PHMC from February 2009 to April 2010. Results Clinic information was available for 40/41 of the patients and was included in the study. 37/41 had confirmed HL. HL was categorized into bilateral/symmetric [15], bilateral/asymmetric [12] and unilateral [10]. Sixteen patients subsequently received hearing amplification after PHMC visit. Follow up was successfully established with otolaryngology in 23/32 (72%) patients, audiology in 29/40 (73%) patients, speech pathology in 11/12 (92%) patients, and ophthalmology in 15/30 (50%) patients. Twenty-nine patients completed evaluations of PHMC. The mean score in six total categories was 3.8/4.0 (4.0 as the highest satisfaction). Conclusion A multidisciplinary clinic approach provides a convenient and effective way to coordinate care for children with HL.