Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of study participants
| Variable | Bilateral permanent childhood hearing loss >40 dB | HCG n=37 | |||
| Moderate n=32 | Severe n=18 | Profound n=23 | Total n=73 | ||
| Age mean (SD) in years | 16.9 (1.4) | 17.5 (1.4) | 16.8 (1.5) | 17.0 (1.4) | 16.3 (1.2) |
| Female, n (%) | 16 (50) | 9 (50) | 10 (44) | 35 (48) | 13 (35) |
| Mode of communication, n (%) | |||||
| Oral | 22 (69) | 10 (56)* | 11 (48)* | 43 (59) | – |
| Sign | 0 | 0 | 1 (4) | 1 (1) | – |
| More than one mode | 10 (31) | 8 (44) | 11 (48) | 29 (40) | – |
| UNHS status, n (%) | |||||
| Born in periods without UNHS | 14 (44) | 10 (56) | 14 (61) | 38 (52) | – |
| Age PCHL confirmed, n (%) | |||||
| >9 completed months | 16 (50) | 12 (67) | 11 (48) | 39 (53) | – |
| English main language at home, n (%) | 31 (97) | 15 (83) | 18 (78) | 64 (88) | – |
| Mother’s educational qualifications†, n (%) | |||||
| No qualifications | 3 (9) | 2 (11) | 2 (9) | 7 (10) | 2 (5) |
| <5 O-level examinations | 4 (12) | 1 (6) | 4 (17) | 9 (12) | 3 (8) |
| ≥5 O-level examinations | 9 (28) | 7 (39) | 8 (35) | 24 (33) | 13 (35) |
| Some A-level examinations | 8 (25) | 4 (22) | 2 (9) | 14 (19) | 1 (3) |
| ≥University degree | 8 (25) | 4 (22) | 7 (30) | 19 (26) | 18 (49) |
| Social class‡, n (%) | |||||
| Higher occupations | 15 (47) | 10 (56) | 11 (48) | 36 (49) | 26 (70) |
| Intermediate occupations | 10 (31) | 3 (17) | 5 (22) | 18 (25) | 8 (22) |
| Lower occupations | 4 (12) | 0 | 5 (22) | 9 (12) | 3 (8) |
| Never worked and long term unemployed | 3 (9) | 5 (28) | 2 (9) | 10 (14) | 0 |
| Family income, n (%) | |||||
| <10 000 | 4 (13) | 2 (12) | 0 | 6 (9) | 0 |
| 10 000–20 000 | 6 (20) | 2 (12) | 7 (33) | 15 (22) | 4 (11) |
| 21 000–30 000 | 2 (7) | 4 (24) | 2 (10) | 8 (12) | 7 (19) |
| 31 000–40 000 | 7 (23) | 2 (12) | 4 (19) | 13 (19) | 4 (11) |
| 41 000–50 000 | 3 (10) | 2 (12) | 1 (5) | 6 (9) | 5 (14) |
| >50 000 | 8 (27) | 5 (29) | 7 (33) | 20 (29) | 17 (46) |
| Additional medical conditions§, n (%) | 9 (28) | 3 (11) | 4 (17) | 16 (22) | 1 (3) |
| Hearing aids, n (%) | |||||
| No aid | 3 (9) | 2 (17) | 11 (48) | 16 (22) | – |
| One aid | 4 (12) | 1 (6) | 3 (13) | 8 (11) | – |
| Two aids | 25 (78) | 15 (83) | 9 (39) | 49 (67) | – |
| Number of cochlear implant(s), n (%) | |||||
| None | 32 (100) | 17 (94) | 11 (48) | 59 (81) | – |
| 1 | – | 1 (6) | 7 (30) | 9 (12) | – |
| 2 | – | – | 5 (22) | 5 (7) | – |
*Language other than English in one participant.
†O level refers to ‘ordinary levels’ UK qualification achieved at 16 years. A level refers to ‘advanced levels’ UK qualification achieved at 18 years.
‡Classified according to UK National Census 2002.
§These were severe visual impairment, cerebral palsy, mental retardation and genetic syndrome.
HCG, hearing comparison group; PCHL, permanent childhood hearing loss >40 dB; UNHS, universal newborn hearing screening.