An Observational Study to Compare Prevalence and Demography of Sensorineural Hearing Loss Among Military Personnel and Civilian Population.

Abstract

To evaluate the pattern of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in patients attending ENT OPD in a military setup as well as to compare the incidence of hearing loss in Military Personnel with civilian population. This observational cross sectional comparative study was conducted over a period of April 2018 to July 2019. A total of 300 patients with hearing loss (HL) were included. Demographic characteristics along with laterality of sensorineural hearing impairment were compared between military personnel and civilians. Data was statistically compared between civilians and military personnel. A P-value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. We report an overall prevalence of 3.78% SNHL in the ENT OPD. Specifically the prevalence of SNHL among military personnel was 2.17% and in civilian population was 4.83% (P < 0.0001). The mean age of the military personnel was significantly less than civilians (62.53 ± 10.03 vs 65.98 ± 12.46, P = 0.003). There were 68% Males and 32% females. Significantly higher number of males were present in military group as all participants were males (100% vs 58.62%, P < 0.0001). There was no significant difference in the laterality of SNHL between Military personnel and the civilian population with bilateral involvement being common in both populations. It can be concluded that bilateral SNHL type is the most common type of hearing impairment among military personnel as well as civilians complaining of HL. Males of 51-70years are most affected with SNHL.