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The Future of Preoperative Assessments-Could Simple, Affordable Headphones Help Professionals Communicate with Children Preoperatively?

Tamsin Holland Brown*

Children undergoing anaesthetics for medical or surgical procedures need to hear to communicate, assent, consent and understand what is happening on the day of surgery. Temporary hearing loss secondary to a condition called glue ear (also known as Otitis Media with Effusion, OME) is common in children, affecting 80% of children at least once before the age of 10years. Surgery (tympanostomy tubes, ventilation tubes or grommet insertion operations) to provide a resolution for glue ear is one of the most common operations in children.
Studies show that simple, affordable headsets that work via bone-conduction (BC) technology help children with glue ear related hearing loss. In hospitals globally, health professionals have challenges with communication whilst wearing face masks, PPE and social distancing which impact most on patients with a hearing loss. Affordable BC headsets to assist listening could potentially be a preoperative solution to improve communication, assent and anxiety in children with evidence of glue ear.