An Observational Study of Hearing Impairment in Children Below 12 Years of Age at a Tertiary Care Centre

Abstract

Background: Hearing is the key to learning spoken language and is important for the cognitive development of children. Without suitable interventions, hearing loss is a barrier to both education and social integration. Untreated hearing loss also affects social and economic development in communities and countries. Objectives: 1. To identify the proportion of different etiologies of hearing impairment in children below 12 years of age. 2. To evaluate association of perinatal, early and late childhood factors with hearing impairment in children below 12 years of age. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in children younger than 12 years of age attending tertiary care center of South Gujarat for hearing impairment. Total 214 patient’s records out of them 34 patients were lost to follow-up and 15 patients did not give consent for the study. So total 165 patients included in study. Results: Total 165 patients out of them 69.2% had Sensorineural hearing loss and 30.8% had conductive hearing loss. Most common cause of hearing impairment are ear infection followed by prematurity, chromosomal defect and history of NICU stay. Conclusion: Most common type of hearing loss is Sensorineural hearing loss and most common cause of hearing impairment is ear infection followed by prematurity, chromosomal defect and history of NICU stay.