A prevalence study of ear problems in school children in Kiambu district, Kenya, May 1992

Hearing loss in urban South African school children (grade 1 to 3)

“…No gender effects were noted in this study (Table 1), in accordance to those previously reported [5], [13] and [30]. However, there was a significant effect (p > 0.01) of race with Caucasian children 2.9 times more likely to have a hearing loss than African children.…”

“…A higher prevalence rate would therefore be expected in the current study sample compared to those from developed countries if the same intensity level of 20 dB HL was used. Furthermore, the prevalence obtained in this study are far less than the 7.9% [13] and the 5.6% [5] reported among previous African studies. A possible reason for the higher rate reported in these studies may be due to the fact that prevalence reported in these studies were based on referral rates and not on audiological diagnostic test findings.…”

“…On further investigation seven of the participants presented with normal hearing and only one had a mild conductive component at 1 kHz. Excessive or impacted ceruman has been reported by other studies to be one of the most frequent and common ear disorders [5].…”

“…These figures range from 1.4% in China [2] and 1.75% in Saudi Arabia [3], to as high as 11.9% in India [4]. The varying ranges in prevalence is also seen in sub-Saharan Africa with prevalence ranging between 5.6% and 13.9% across studies in rural areas of Kenya [5] and Nigeria [6], respectively.…”

School and Classroom Disabilities Inclusion Guide for Low- and Middle-Income Countries

“…These approaches show promise in other low-income countries, but require the availability of precise equipment and trained audiologists, which remains a challenge in many low-income schools and school districts. Similarly, studies of hearing impairment prevalence found that Nigeria (Fasunla, Samdi, & Nwaorgu, 2013), Kenya (Hatcher et al, 1995), and India (Singh & Kumar, 2010) all relied on clinic, hospital, or health center personnel to conduct the screenings.…”