Incidence/prevalence of sensorineural hearing impairment in Thailand and Southeast Asia

The Bangkok Otological Center (ISA-HI-lFOS/World Health Organization Collaborating Center) carried out a series of prevalence studies of hearing impairment throughout Thailand. This report includes background information for Thailand and its medical personnel and the results of five studies in different regions from 1988 to the present. This report emphasises sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). Study I in three Thai provinces showed SNHL at 18.6 per cent. These results were considered abnormally high due to a number of extraneous reasons. Study 2 was conducted in 17 provinces in 5 regions and in Bangkok. Results showed that 8.3 per cent of those tested had a SNHL. Study 3, The Crown Prince Project, involved 21 Crown Prince Hospitals and showed an overall SNHL of 4.6 per cent. Study 4 was the Thai-Swedish project, where SNHL was reported at 22.7 per cent. Study 5 involved school children aged 6 to 15 in both rural Thailand and Bangkok. Results showed SNHL in Bangkok children at 3.5 per cent compared to 3.6 per cent in the rural children. After a careful review of the various studies, the overall results have been interpreted to suggest that the prevalence of SNHL in Thailand is between 3.5 and 5 per cent.