Post meningitic sensori-neural hearing loss in children--alterations in hearing level

Post meningitic sensori-neural hearing loss was studied in forty new cases of bacterial meningitis and ten cases of viral meningitis treated at the Pediatric Institute, Kuala Lumpur Hospital from April 1991 to March 1992. Hearing assessment at 2 weeks, 3 months and 6 months following the diagnosis of meningitis using Brain Stem Evoked Response Audiometry showed that hearing loss was prevalent only in patients with bacterial meningitis. Hearing loss was detected in 32.5% of these patients during the acute phase of the disease, 22.8% after 3 months and 24.2% after 6 months. In 63.6% of the affected cases, hearing loss was bilateral. In 61.5% of the patients who had hearing loss during the acute phase of the disease, it was permanent, 16.7% had either partial or complete recovery and, 15.4% had deterioration in hearing level. In 2 cases the subsequent hearing level was unknown. The risk of developing sensori neural hearing loss was found to be significantly higher in patients who developed other neurological sequelae. The study highlights the importance of performing repeated hearing assessment in children with bacterial meningitis and the difficulty in appropriate selection of hearing aids in the early stages.