Screening audiometry in Nigerian school children

Audiometric screening tests done on 292 six-year old primary school children in Benin; shows that 9.2of the children had significant hearing impairment with elevation of hearing thresholds (HTL) above recommended screening levels at all or most of the frequencies tested; a total of 31of all subjects had some threshold elevation although in the majority of cases only one or two frequencies were affected. Otoscopic abnormalities were evident in a higher proportion of children who had hearing impairment than in those with normal hearing. The need for routine audiometric screening of school children is emphasized