PREVALENCE OF HEARING LOSS AMONG CHILDREN PRESENTING IN ENT OUTDOOR DEPARTMENT

Hearing impairment is the most frequent sensory deficit in human populations, affecting more than 250 million people in the world. Consequences of hearing impairment include inability to interpret speech sounds, often producing a reduced ability to communicate, delay in language acquisition, economic and educational disadvantage, social isolation and stigmatization. This cross-sectional study was carried out in children presenting in ear-nose-throat outdoor department. All the children having hearing issues underwent audiometric tests. The data was analyzed using SPSS Ver. 23.0. After initial examination, audiometry of 213 children were done. The mean age of children were 9.23±2.34 years. Fifty-eight (27.23%) had mild hearing loss, 24 (11.27%) had moderate hearing loss. 30 (14.08%) had moderately severe hearing loss and 9 (4.23%) had severe hearing loss.