Towards universal access: A review of global efforts in ear and hearing care.

Hearing loss affects 1.6 billion people worldwide and disproportionately affects those in low- and middle-income countries. Despite being largely preventable or treatable, ear and hearing conditions result in significant and lifelong morbidity such as delayed language development, reduced educational attainment, and diminished social well-being. There is a need to augment prevention, early identification, treatment, and rehabilitation for these conditions. Expanded access to hearing screening, growth of the hearing health workforce, and innovations in ear and hearing care delivery systems are among the changes that are needed. To that end, the World Health Organization has prioritized ear and hearing care as a component of Universal Health Coverage, and recent publications have advanced the priority for ear and hearing care. Efforts are underway at the national levels around the world, as evidenced by countries like Zambia and Nigeria that have integrated ear and hearing care within national health strategies. While significant strides have been made in improving access, a critical need remains for additional research, advocacy, and intervention to ensure that no one is left behind in the goal to achieve universal access to ear and hearing care.

Otological findings among Nigerian children with sickle cell anaemia.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Various degrees of hearing loss have been associated with sickle cell anaemia, especially of the sensorineural type (SNHL). However, there is little information on hearing pattern among sickle cell children in Nigeria. This study is to determine the prevalence of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) among children with sickle cell anaemia (SCA). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Eighty (80) stable children aged 4-15 with Hbss attending the pediatric sickle cell clinic and also 60 control patients with HbAA, matched for age, sex at the pediatric general medical clinic of the University of Ilorin teaching hospital, Ilorin, Nigeria, all had prospective study of their pure tone audiological assessment (PTA) and tympanometric evaluations done over a year period. RESULTS: Their age range was 4-15 years with a mean of 9.4 for the Hbss and 9.7 for the control group. The male/female ratio was 1.3:1 and 1.5:1 for SCA and control subjects respectively. 25 subjects (50 ears) had abnormal audiograms among the SCA subjects and OME was the cause in 22 subjects and only three (3) had mild SNHL which was bilateral. However, in the control group 15 had abnormal audiograms and all were due to OME and none had SNHL. OME was bilateral in 19 subjects with SCA, two on the left and only one on the right. In the control group, 11 of the OME was bilateral and only four were on the left side. The prevalence of SNHL was 3.8% and OME was 27.5%. CONCLUSION: We have found a prevalence rate for SNHL of 3.8% for 80 subjects with HbSS, and all cases have been a mild bilateral high frequency SNHL. Our findings suggested that SNHL is uncommon in early childhood, specifically during the years of language acquisition and early schooling. This could mean an age dependant prevalence rate of SNHL among SCA patients. However, no difference in the incidence of OME among both groups which can lead to educational difficulties from the resultant speech and language defects.