Learning disabilities in children with hearing loss: a systematic review

Purpose: The main aim of this systematic review was to investigate the possible association between hearing loss [and/or history of otitis media with effusion (OME)] and learning difficulties in children. Secondary aims were to: (i) investigate if deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children with learning difficulties might show different clinical and neuropsychological features compared with those with other neurodevelopmental disorders; (ii) identify possible predictors of learning difficulty in DHH children. Methods: A review was conducted of the scientific literature reported by Pubmed, Cochrane and Scopus databases. The following inclusion criteria were used: (i) studies published after 2000; (ii) studies conducted considering subjects with age < 18 years; (iii) studies considering patients who showed both learning difficulties and hearing loss and/or episodes of OME; (iv) articles written in English. The exclusion criteria were: (i) presence in the studied cohort of any other proven c...