Wafaa El Kholy
Dr. Wafaa Abdel-Hay Mohamed El-Kholy is Professor Emeritus of Audio-vestibular Medicine, Oto-rhino-laryngology Dept., Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt. She shared in the development of Arabic speech perception tests for adults and children and the Arabic computer-based program for remediation of children with auditory processing disorders. She is co-founder of rehabilitation center for pre-school hearing aid and cochlear implant users. She is board member of the International Association of Communication Sciences and Disorders (IALP) – Audiology Committee. She also holds membership in the International Association of Physicians in Audiology (IAPA) and the Egyptian Audio-Vestibular Medicine Association (EAVMA). She is reviewer in the Egyptian Journal of Ear, Nose and Throat and Allied Sciences (EJENTAS) and the Egyptian Journal of Oto-rhino-laryngology (EJO). Her research focuses on speech-evoked potentials in children using cochlear implants, those with central auditory processing disorders and/or language disorders. Her most recent research focuses on implementation of discrimination cortical evoked potentials, specifically the Acoustic Change Complex, in cochlear implant users and in children with auditory processing disorders. Moreover, she recently shared in the development of Arabic low-verbal material for central auditory abilities and low-verbal sentences-in-noise tests for young hearing-impaired children. Her current research focuses on the implementation of Artificial Intelligence in predicting performance in young cochlear implant children and evaluation of spatial listening in normal children, patients with SSD, and children with microtia.
Session
Panel presentation of Current Approach to Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disease
Background: Approximately 10% of children born with a permanent hearing loss have auditory neuropathy. Implementation of universal newborn hearing screening has led to early detection and intervention. An increased understanding of the long-term achievements of children with auditory neuropathy is essential to developing a comprehensive account of expected outcomes of children for improving counselling and clinical management.
Objective. This study examined language and speech outcomes in a population-based cohort of 9-year-old children with hearing loss and auditory neuropathy, and investigated factors influencing outcomes.
Method. Receptive and expressive language skills, speech output accuracy, and a diverse set of cognitive, demographic and audiological, variables (including age at device fitting) were evaluated at 3-, 5- and 9-years of age using direct assessment and caregiver report. Multiple regression analyses were used to address two questions: 1) Do language and speech outcomes at earlier ages predict language and speech outcomes at 9 years of age? 2) Which cognitive, demographic and audiological variables measured at 9 years of age predict concurrent language and speech outcomes after controlling for early language and speech outcomes?
Result and Discussion. The influence of cognitive, demographic and audiological variables, including auditory neuropathy, on 9-year outcomes was quantified. The implications of results on clinical best-practice management of children with hearing loss and auditory neuropathy will be discussed.