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Introduction <p>Undiagnosed hearing loss in school-going children can affect social communication, scholastic achievement, and may develop behavioral issues. In India, school-going children do not visit an ENT specialist for annual hearing testing as a preventive health routine check-up. School hearing screening is one of the simplest and cost-effective strategies to assess those children and redirect them for detailed clinical examination. This study aimed to find out the prevalence of hearing loss among school-going children in Kurukshetra, North India.</p> Method <p>We evaluated 318 children aged 5 to 15 years who were attending 8 government schools in Kurukshetra, Haryana. The selection of schools and students was done randomly after obtaining written or electronic consent. The students were categorized into two age groups: group 1 (5–10 years) and group 2 (11–15 years). Hearing assessments were performed in a designated room within each school. Each student received an otoscopic examination, followed by pure tone audiometry and tympanometry, utilizing the Piano inventis dual channel audiometer, Clarinet Plus tympanometer, and adhering to the established guidelines for pure tone audiometry and tympanometry screening.</p> Result <p>Out of a total of 318 students, 186 were boys and 132 were girls who participated in this study. The participants were divided into two groups, with group 1 comprising 19.5% and group 2 making up 80.5%. During the otoscopic examination, abnormal findings were observed in 31.60% of ears (<i>n</i> = 201), where 63% exhibited compacted ear wax, 11.5% had retracted tympanic membranes (TM), 8% showed perforated TM, 6.5% had otitis media with effusion (OME), and 6% were diagnosed with acute otitis media (AOM). Pure tone audiometry measurements indicated conductive hearing loss in 8.65% of ears (<i>n</i> = 55), with mild impairment detected in 87% of these ears, followed by moderate impairment in 9% and moderately severe impairment in 3.5%. Tympanometry results revealed abnormal tympanograms in 11.80% of ears (<i>n</i> = 75), with type B tympanograms found in 41% of ears, type C in 34.5%, and type As in 24%.</p> Conclusion <p>Hearing impairment poses a significant health issue, impacting both academic performance and communication skills. Nevertheless, conducting annual hearing screenings offers a straightforward and economical method for identifying hearing loss in school-aged children. Timely detection and intervention can help address issues such as earwax buildup and AOM &amp; OME. This study emphasizes the necessity of implementing mandatory annual hearing screenings for children in schools.</p>

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Burden of Hearing Impairment and Otologic Conditions in Rural Northern Indian School-going Children: An Epidemiological Study

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年8月13日

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  • Rajesh Choudhary,
  • GPS Gill,
  • Sudhir Kumar,
  • Diksha,
  • Neelam,
  • Chetna Sharma

摘要

Introduction

Undiagnosed hearing loss in school-going children can affect social communication, scholastic achievement, and may develop behavioral issues. In India, school-going children do not visit an ENT specialist for annual hearing testing as a preventive health routine check-up. School hearing screening is one of the simplest and cost-effective strategies to assess those children and redirect them for detailed clinical examination. This study aimed to find out the prevalence of hearing loss among school-going children in Kurukshetra, North India.

Method

We evaluated 318 children aged 5 to 15 years who were attending 8 government schools in Kurukshetra, Haryana. The selection of schools and students was done randomly after obtaining written or electronic consent. The students were categorized into two age groups: group 1 (5–10 years) and group 2 (11–15 years). Hearing assessments were performed in a designated room within each school. Each student received an otoscopic examination, followed by pure tone audiometry and tympanometry, utilizing the Piano inventis dual channel audiometer, Clarinet Plus tympanometer, and adhering to the established guidelines for pure tone audiometry and tympanometry screening.

Result

Out of a total of 318 students, 186 were boys and 132 were girls who participated in this study. The participants were divided into two groups, with group 1 comprising 19.5% and group 2 making up 80.5%. During the otoscopic examination, abnormal findings were observed in 31.60% of ears (n = 201), where 63% exhibited compacted ear wax, 11.5% had retracted tympanic membranes (TM), 8% showed perforated TM, 6.5% had otitis media with effusion (OME), and 6% were diagnosed with acute otitis media (AOM). Pure tone audiometry measurements indicated conductive hearing loss in 8.65% of ears (n = 55), with mild impairment detected in 87% of these ears, followed by moderate impairment in 9% and moderately severe impairment in 3.5%. Tympanometry results revealed abnormal tympanograms in 11.80% of ears (n = 75), with type B tympanograms found in 41% of ears, type C in 34.5%, and type As in 24%.

Conclusion

Hearing impairment poses a significant health issue, impacting both academic performance and communication skills. Nevertheless, conducting annual hearing screenings offers a straightforward and economical method for identifying hearing loss in school-aged children. Timely detection and intervention can help address issues such as earwax buildup and AOM & OME. This study emphasizes the necessity of implementing mandatory annual hearing screenings for children in schools.