The Hearing Threshold Levels of Children at School Age

OBJECTIVE: To measure the hearing threshold levels by air conduction in a group of unselected and a group of selected (otologically normal) school-aged children. DESIGN: Six hundred eighty-seven unselected school children representing three age groups and 471 selected, otologically normal children were examined by pure-tone audiometry. RESULTS: The obtained results showed that hearing levels improved with age from 7 to 10 yr in children in both groups. The pure-tone averages (PTAs) of the right and the left ear in otologically normal children were, respectively, 1.8 and 1.2 dB HL in 7-yr-old children, -0.9 and -1.7 dB HL in 10-yr-old children, and -1.3 and -2.0 dB HL in 14-yr-old children. The PTAs were 0.2 to 1.9 dB poorer in the groups of unselected children. CONCLUSIONS: The present study provides new data on the hearing sensitivity among unselected 7-, 10-, and 14-yr-old school children. Furthermore, it provides normative values on the hearing thresholds of otologically normal children in these three age groups.