Hearing Loss at 4khz in School Age Children in Jordan:A Pilot Study

Abstract

Pure tone screening audiometry was carried out on 400 school children at three different ages, 10,13 and 15 years old during the period 1998-1999. The results showed that the dip at 4KHz (>20dB) was found in 50 (12.5%) of the study sample, 35 boys (8.7%) and 15 (3.8%) girls. The 4KHz dip was unilateral in 42 children (10%) and bilateral in 8 children (2.5%). The number of children with 4KHz dip increased with age. At the age of 15 years, it was found in 17(4.2%) boys and 7(1.7%) girls, two or more frequencies were affected in 5 and hearing thresholds of 40 dB and worse were found in 7 of the children. The results clearly indicate that noise pollution is one of the causes of hearing loss among school age children. Therefore, it is recommended to implement a hearing conservation programme at school.