Pediatric otology and cochlear implants
It is important to understand the workup for congenital sensorineural hearing loss and associated evaluations that may be useful, including ophthalmology and genetics consultations. Different types of hearing tests can be chosen depending on the age group and to explore for specific pathologies. The importance of binaural hearing is becoming more accepted-hearing in noise, summation, squelch, and directionality. Bilateral cochlear implants demonstrate some improved objective measures. Cochlear implantation in children is becoming more common and has been shown to be greatly beneficial to their development. Middle and outer ear pathologies are common in children and will require proper workup, counseling, and medical and/or surgical management. Aural polyps in the external auditory canal should trigger suspicion for an associated underlying cause for the exuberant inflammatory/granulation tissue reaction. Prior to biopsy of an external auditory canal lesion, consider imaging to rule out vascular or intracranial connection.
