ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: This study was conducted to determine the incidence of hearing impairment in children visiting a private audiology clinic on Port Harcourt, Nigeria, the type and degree of hearing impairment in these children, and to determine if there is any case for a community-based study on childhood hearing-impairment in the region. METHODS: This is a retrospective study of all persons up to the age of 15 years seen in an audiologic centre in Port Harcourt Nigeria over a 42 month period from January 2000 to June 2003. Demographic data were extracted from the medical records of each subject. Audiological evaluation was performed using standard Pure Tone Audiometry for subjects above 3 years and free-field audiometric techniques for those below 3 years. RESULTS: Sixty-two (48.9%) of the 127 persons 15 years and below who were examined showed evidence of hearing impairment. There were 29 males and 33 females (male:female ratio = 1:1.14). Age range was 2 to 15 years, mean = 8.3 +/- 4.6 years. Out of the 124 ears examined, 121 showed evidence of hearing impairment whilst 3 were normal. Bilateral hearing impairment was found in 59 (95.2%) of the subjects with hearing loss. Profound, severe, moderate and mild bilateral hearing loss were found in 42 (72%), 7 (11.9%), 6 (10.2%) and 4 (6.8%) subjects respectively. Ninety-seven (83.2%) of the 118 ears in subjects with bilateral hearing loss have, at least, severe hearing impairment. About 90% of the subjects with bilateral hearing loss had sensironeural hearing defect in at least one ear. CONCLUSION: Most of the cases of hearing impairment in our study were of profound/severe severity. Majority were of sensorineural type. There is the need for a community-based study to estimate the prevalence of hearing impairment in the study area.
