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Every fifth Polish child entering school has hearing problems. Every third with eyesight, and every fourth with correct speech. Only common screening tests can stop this process. Experts from all over Europe support these activities – today they met in Warsaw during the XNUMXth Congress of the European Federation of Audiological Societies.
On the first day of the XNUMXth Congress of the European Federation of Audiological Societies, which is held for the first time in history in Poland, a special expert session of representatives of individual European countries was held, organized by the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing in cooperation with the Minister of Health in connection with the Polish Presidency of the Council of the Union European.
The purpose of this meeting, as well as several preceding meetings, including the meeting of the Working Group of European and Polish experts in the field of ophthalmology, was the adoption by the circles of European audiologists and phoniatrists as well as ophthalmologists and speech therapists of a very important document – “European Scientific Consensus on screening tests for hearing, vision and speech in children of preschool and school age ”.
The adoption and support of the Polish scientific initiative in this field is an unprecedented event on an international scale and an expression of recognition for the achievements, entrepreneurship and effectiveness of Polish activities in this field. It is also an extremely important tribute to the European scientific community entrusting the Polish Presidency of the EU Council to represent these problems.
“The European Scientific Consensus on screening of hearing, sight and speech in preschool and school children” expresses the position of the European community of audiologists and phoniatrists, speech therapists and ophthalmologists on the problem of communication disorders in children entering school education, the negative impact of hearing and vision disorders and speech for the proper intellectual and emotional development of a child, as well as the role of early diagnosis – most effectively carried out through screening – and early therapy. Among the signatories of the consensus there were representatives of the European Federation of Audiological Societies, the Union of European Phoniatrists, the Liaison Committee of Speech Therapists / Speech Therapists of the European Union, a national consultant in the field of ophthalmology representing the European ophthalmology community and the initiator of the scientific union of the international community around the idea of equalizing educational opportunities for children with communication disorders – Professor Henryk Skarżyński, Director of the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing.
The initiative to equalize educational opportunities for children with communication disorders was adopted by the Minister of Health and included in the Priority of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the area of public health. The “European Scientific Consensus on screening tests for hearing, vision and speech in preschool and school-age children” signed in Warsaw is one of the most important tools strengthening the implementation of the Priority.
The scale and significance of the problem
The proper functioning of the hearing, sight and speech organs are the basis of social communication and the development of the modern information society. With regard to preschool and school-age children, disturbances in the functioning of the sensory organs are one of the main causes of learning delays, difficulties in acquiring language skills, intelligence and effective communication with the environment – in and outside school.
Research on children starting school, conducted for many years by the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing in cooperation with research institutions from Poland and other countries, has shown that:
– every fifth child has various types of hearing problems
– every third child has vision problems
– every fourth child shows articulation disorders
Also alarming is the fact that 60% of parents of children with some sort of hearing loss were not aware of the problem.
One of the most effective tools for early recognition of children at risk of learning disabilities due to hearing, vision and speech disorders is common screening. This enables appropriate intervention and therapy to be undertaken – at the latest when school begins.
From the first pilot studies to European initiatives
The Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing began screening almost 18 years ago, when the issue of examining hearing in newborns was raised. In the years 1995-98, in cooperation with 70 different national medical institutions, the Institute carried out a task commissioned by the Minister of Health, as a result of which a standard for conducting such research on a general scale was developed. The collected results and the proposed procedures made a significant contribution to the “European Consensus on Neonatal Hearing Screening”, adopted in 1998 in Milan. In 1999 and 2000, the Institute conducted a pilot program for detecting hearing and speech defects based on a population of 5600 school-age children from 82 schools across the country. These studies were carried out jointly with the University of M. Curie-Skłodowskiej in Lublin and Brigham Young University in Provo (USA). In the following years, in cooperation with various research units, including Gdańsk University of Technology and the University of M. Curie-Skłodowska conducted research and implementation works related to the development of tests and tools for mass screening of hearing in preschool and school children and adolescents via the Internet. Multimedia screening programs were developed and implemented into clinical practice: “I hear …”, “I speak …” and “I can see …”, which were awarded many times at international competitions in Brussels, Paris, Geneva, Nuremberg, Cork, Stockholm and Frankfurt. Within the framework of the health policy program of the Ministry of Health and with the support of the Ministry of National Education and Sport, more than 7 children and adolescents were examined in the course of 500 years using the “I hear …” program. Over 000 million people from 16 countries around the world took part in the research in a remote form.
The implementation of research in such a large population has revealed the scale of the problem of hearing disorders and the fact that it grows with age. After analyzing 11 studies of adults from the Podlaskie, Mazowieckie and Śląskie voivodeships who were randomly selected according to the verified rules, it was shown that, inter alia, in the population over 70 years of age as many as 3 have hearing problems.
In 2008-2011, the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing, in two stages – Eastern Poland and Western Poland – implemented the world’s first large-scale screening program for seven-year-olds from all schools in rural areas and small towns up to 5 inhabitants. The partner of this program was the Agricultural Social Insurance Fund. At the same time, a three-year hearing screening program was carried out in the entire population of twelve-year-olds in Warsaw.
In total, over 227 children from over 11 schools in Poland were tested in these programs.
The Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing is also the creator and co-creator of hearing screening devices for children of all ages. Since 2009, research programs in schools have been implemented using the Senses Research Platform, the world’s first integrated device for assessing damage to 3 organs: hearing, sight and speech. The platform may be part of an IT system that allows data management and storage in a central database via the Internet. The Senses Research Platform wins many awards and medals at the world fairs of inventions and modern technologies.
The accumulated experience and results gave an impulse to relate these data to other countries and establish international cooperation with specialists dealing with hearing, sight and speech disorders. Over the last few years, the Institute’s achievements as well as the results and conclusions of the research have been presented many times at international congresses and conferences, building the position of the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing in the field of detection and treatment of communication disorders. In 2007, at the European Parliament in Brussels, the Institute’s team organized an exhibition documenting their work and conducted a series of lectures on “Good Hearing, Speech and Sight – a chance for the development of the young generation of Europe”. These speeches were very well received among European parliamentarians.
In initiating the preparation of the project “European Scientific Consensus on screening of hearing, sight and speech in preschool and school-age children”, the Institute conducted a survey in 27 European countries. The survey concerned screening of hearing in children of all ages, from newborns to preschool and school age. It shows that in many European countries, usually various activities are carried out locally, covering smaller or larger social groups. However, while screening for newborns in a significant number of countries (21) is already common, screening for children in preschool and school age – not (only 8 countries declared that they are implemented in various forms). Participants in the survey highlighted another important problem – the occurrence of tinnitus. They may be related to the so-called civilization threats, i.e. noise at school and on the street, as well as incorrect (too loud) use of e.g. mp3 players. The support of the European expert community for the initiative to develop a “European Consensus on screening of hearing, sight and speech in preschool and school-age children” has motivated the Institute to continue its activities. Their result is a document adopted in Warsaw.
The Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union creates a unique opportunity to present Polish experiences and achievements in the field of organizing large-scale screening programs on the forum of EU institutions and governments of the Member States, as well as to discuss the problem of communication disorders in children. Proposed by the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing, in cooperation with the Department of Mother and Child of the Ministry of Health, the topic “Equalizing educational opportunities for children with communication disorders” was adopted as an integral part of the Priority “Reducing the differences in the health of European societies”. During the six-month Presidency, we will want to draw the attention of politicians, decision-makers and opinion-formers representing the Member States to the scale of the problem of hearing, vision and speech disorders among children in Europe and the need for early diagnosis and intervention. Much attention will also be paid to the use of innovative technologies and telemedicine in the treatment of communication disorders, as well as cooperation in the creation of European centers of reference. In the interests of the future of the young generation of Europe, it should be remembered that the proper functioning of the hearing, sight and speech organs determines the proper intellectual and emotional development of children, which is of great importance for their situation in adulthood, not only in terms of health, but also social and professional and economical.