RESUMO
This study was carried out on chidren presented with deafness, speech delay or both to the hearing impaired [deaf-mute] children clinic at Salmaniya Medical Complex in Bahrain. Full detailed medical and family history including pre, peri and post-natal history relevant to hearing impairment were obtained. Otolaryngological and Audiological assessment were conducted and recorded on preset proforma. Assessment was also conducted by developmental paediatrician and child psychiatrist when indicated. A total of 196 cases were studied over 10 years period from 1986 to 1996. Children with positive family history of deafness constituted 37.8% of the cases [genetic group]. Other aetiological groups showed the following distribution: cause unknown 33.6%, pre-natal 3.0%, peri-natal 5.6%, post-natal 16.3% and miscellaneous group 3.6% Our study showed that the main aetiological factors for deafness in children in Bahrain were the Genetic and Unknown factors at 71.5% This might be attributed to recessive genes,probably due to the high rate of consanguineous marriages of 60.7% among the sample subjects