Assessment of Hearing Impairment in School Children of Rural area in Jamalpur

Abstract

The cross sectional study was done too measure prevalence of hearing impairment (HI) in school children living in poverty area of Bangladesh and to identify risk factors for HI and assess its impact on academic performance. The study was conducted on 325 school children (aged 6-19 years) of Digpait D.K high school, Jamalpur, from January 2013 to July 2013. Audiological health was assessed with pure-tone audiometry, tympanometry, and otoscopy. The primary outcome was HI, defined as average threshold >25 dB HL for 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz, in one or both ears (a s per World Health Organization/International Organization for Standardization). A questionnaire on health history was administered to parents. HI prevalence: 6.9 percent, risk factors for HI: neonatal jaundice (8.0) seizure (7. 31), hospitalization (15.3), recurrent otitis media (13), past otorrhea (13.7), tympanic membrane abnormality (14.8), cerumen impaction (6.3) and eustachian tube dysfunction (8.67). HI was an independent predictor of academic failure (3.36). impoverished Bangladesh school children were four to seven times more likely to experience HI than children living in higher-income countries. Untreated middle ear disease in the context of limited access to pediatric care was a major risk factor for HI. Furthermore, HI was associated with worse scholastic achievement.