Prevalence of Hearing Loss and Associated Factors in School-Age Individuals in an Urban Area of Northeast Brazil

Abstract

Introduction Hearing loss interferes in the development of language and verbal capacities, which causes learning difficulties and deleterious effects. Objective To analyze the prevalence and associated factors for hearing loss in school-age individuals of the municipality of Natal, state of Rio Grande do Norte, Northeast Brazil. Methods Cross-sectional study that evaluated 238 school-age individuals (6–17 years old) in municipal public schools. Meatoscopy was performed and school-age individuals answered the questions “Do you think that you hear well?” and “Do you have earaches?”. Auditory evaluation was performed with a Telessaúde audiometer. The responsible adults answered socioeconomic, speech and audiology aspects and risk factors for hearing loss questionnaire. Results The prevalence of hearing loss was 16% (11.7–21.4%); 16% reported not to hear well, 18.9% reported earaches, and 26.1% presented altered meatoscopy. The prevalence of hearing loss was higher in school-age individuals who reported hearing difficulties, in children between the ages of 6 and 12, and with altered meatoscopy results (p < 0.05). Airway infection (PR = 3.37; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.48–7.68) was found as a risk factor associated with hearing loss, remaining significant in the multivariate model (PR = 6.79; 95%CI: 1.98–23.26; p = 0.002). Conclusions Hearing loss in this sample is above the values reported in other studies performed in Brazil for this age group. This highlights the necessity of better structure of speech and audiology attention, so that auditory health promotion actions can be systematized for this population.

Prevalence of Health Problems Targeted by the National School-based Screening Program among Primary School Students in Saudi Arabia, 2019

“…In the current study, the prevalence of auditory problems was 0.7% among firstgrade students. This prevalence is lower than that found in international studies, where the prevalence is 8.1% in Canada [31], 19.6% in Brazil [32], and 27.2% in Kyrgyzstan [33]. However, in the latter studies, the screening threshold was 20 dB, while in the current study, it was at 25 dB, resulting in fewer cases detected.…”

Prevalence of Health Problems Targeted by the National School-Based Screening Program among Primary School Students in Saudi Arabia, 2019

“…In the current study, the prevalence of auditory problems was 0.7% among firstgrade students. This prevalence is lower than the figures found in international studies, where the prevalence is 8.1% in Canada [30], 19.6% in Brazil [31], and 27.2% in Kyrgyzstan [32]. However, in the latter studies, the screening threshold was 20 dB, while in the current study, it was at 25 dB, resulting in fewer cases detected.…”

Sensitivity and specificity of three hearing screening protocols in the school setting

“…This hearing problems are similar to previous results obtained in other Brazilian cities, such as São Luís (MA) 37 (24.3% of children from 7 to 9 years old) and Goiânia (GO) (24% of children from 7 to 14 years old) 34 . However, they are larger than those observed in other studies performed in more developed regions of Brazil 26,36,38 and other countries 6,7,8,13,14 . The differences in prevalence rates are due, in part, to the great variability in the procedures, methods, and techniques of the auditory screening tests performed and in the adopted pass and fail criteria of these procedures 7-,9 .…”

“…Sensorineural hearing loss is also important but in this context, when TEOEA is used, it is possible to find fail result in both types of hearing loss, so this one could be a promising procedure in such environment. Also, it is crucial to structure the hearing health program for a school population 35 by studying more about prevalence and associated factors of hearing loss 36 . In addition, it is key to study different hearing screening protocols to support that kind of program.…”