Prevalence of ear disease in semi-urban and rural school going children

Abstract

Introduction: Hearing loss is the most common sensory deficit in humans today which is more prevalent during the school going years, due to late onset and identification, affecting a child’s educational, cognitive and social development. Aims and Objectives: This study was conducted to determine the common causes of hearing loss among the school going children. Methodology: This cross-sectional study done in two state government schools of Meghalaya and 108 students were assessed for the presence of hearing loss using preformed questionnaire. Otoscopic examination was done on all students. Results: Through this study the prevalence of hearing loss in the students studied was found to be 17.6% and the prevalence of ear disease (with or without hearing loss) was 22%.The prevalence of hearing loss was significantly higher in rural school than the semi urban school. The most common ear disease was ear wax, Chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) and Otitis media with effusion (OME). Conclusion: The hearing loss present in our study population was due to either preventable or treatable causes and its prevalence can be brought down with proper care of the ear and with adequate treatment.

Keywords

• hearing loss
• school going children
• meghalaya