Assessment of Hearing Status by Pure Tone Audiogram—An Institutional Study

Ganesh Kumar Balasubramanian,Gitanjali Narendran,Ramanathan Thirunavukkarasu,Ramesh Babu Kalyanasundaram

doi:10.4236/ijohns.2015.45062

Ganesh Kumar Balasubramanian, Gitanjali Narendran + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.4236/ijohns.2015.45062

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Abstract

Aim: To assess the hearing status of the study subjects in terms of degree and type of hearing loss, and establish the burden of this disability in the society. Materials and methods: This is a prospective study conducted in patients who attend our OPD. After an otorhinolaryngeal examination, all the patients were subjected to pure tone audiometry using MAICA-MA52 audiometer. Results: Our study comprises 1012 males (64%) and 563 females (36%). Out of this, about 15% have conductive deafness and 42% have sensorineural hearing loss. About 29% suffer from mild hearing loss, 26% moderate and 11% severe hearing loss. The alarming information is that about 5% have total hearing loss of Sudden Sensorineural type (SSNHL). Conclusion: Pure tone audiometry is cost effective and easy to perform. Early diagnosis and timely intervention will reduce the morbidity of deafness in our country. Hence it is necessary to identify and treat sudden sensorineural hearing loss and noise induced hearing loss at an early stage.

Highlights

Hearing is an important and essential sense for verbal communication, language skills and personality development
All patients were subjected to pure tone audiometry (MAICA-MA52) after an otorhinolaryngeal examination
Our study shows that 40 - 59 years age group is more commonly involved (38%), 20 - 39 years age group constitutes 30%, above 60 years constitutes 20% and the rest 12% is 10 - 19 years group

Summary

Introduction

Hearing is an important and essential sense for verbal communication, language skills and personality development. Hearing loss is the second most common disability in India after the loco motor disability. More than 40 dB hearing impairment in patients above 15 years and more than 30 dB hearing impairment in patients below 14 years in the better ear are considered as hearing disability. Hearing loss is classified as: How to cite this paper: Balasubramanian, G.K., Thirunavukkarasu, R., Kalyanasundaram, R.B. and Narendran, G. (2015) Assessment of Hearing Status by Pure Tone Audiogram—An Institutional Study. International Journal of Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery, 4, 375-380.

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