The pattern of hearing impairment among schoolboys in an Institute for deaf subjects

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to study the pattern of deafness among boys of Al-Amal Institutes for the Deaf in Abha, the capital city of Asir Region, Southwestern Saudi Arabia.

METHODS: All students (n=155) were subjected to full otoscopic and audiometric examinations, and the type and degree of deafness were graded according to the recommendation of the British Society of Audiology. Computerized tomography scan was carried out to exclude congenital inner ear deformity, and specific Igm antibodies assay for TORCHS was carried out when the history of intrauterine infection was positive or suggestive.

RESULTS: More than 97% of students had sensori-neural hearing loss of various grades (55% profound, 28% severe and 14.5% moderate), while congenital conductive deafness constituted 3% of all cases. Residual hearing was reported for 43% of cases. There was delayed identification of deafness with an inverse relation between the age of identification of deafness and its severity (F = 227.66, P < 0.001). Prematurity (30%), intrauterine infection (17%) and heredity (15.5%) were the most frequently encountered causes of deafness. Postnatal causes accounted for only 20%, mostly due to meningitis 12%, other childhood fevers 5% and trauma 2.5%. Deafness of unknown cause constituted 12% of all cases.

CONCLUSION: The preventable causes of deafness in the region has not yet been overcome, a finding that will necessitate more efforts to upgrade the prenatal and perinatal health care. Late identification of hearing impairment will make the improvement in the audiology screening for infants the priority need.