Audiometric screening of first grade primary school students in Tehran, 2007-8

ABSTRACT

The incidence of hearing loss in pediatric population is estimated to be 2-5%. Most of the causes for conductive hearing loss can be easily diagnosed and treated. Hence, majority of hearing loss cases can be prevented by taking appropriate measures. This study was performed to examine the incidence and common causes of hearing loss among school children in Tehran. This cross-sectional descriptive study was performed on 1000 primary school boys and girls [grade 1] in Tehran. Simple random sampling from those schools that were selected as population clusters was used. Hearing loss was defined as lack of voice perception with different frequencies of 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz and intensity of 25 dB in pure tone audiometry. In this study, 433 cases had hearing disorder and were referred to the audiometric and tympanometric centers for further examinations. Eventually, 37 [3.7%] students were proven to suffer from hearing loss. There was a statistically significant association between hearing loss and previous history of neonatal jaundice, in-family marriage of parents, and congenital anomalies [P < 0.05]. in the light of the rather high prevalence [3.7%] of hearing loss and the easily treatable nature of the most common causes, more extensive and interventional studies seem necessary to include hearing assessment among the routine screening programs in the nation