Cochlear implants in deaf children

This investigation was aimed to determine the current status of sensorineural hearing loss in children from the provinces of the Kingdom Saudi Arabia and to report on those with severe to profound hearing loss who are in need of cochlear implant.

A comprehensive survey of 9540 Saudi children was carried out from September 1997 through to May 2000. The subjects were randomly selected from the 4 main provinces of the country. The main objective was to screen these children for hearing impairment. A survey team included an ear, nose and throat specialist, a nurse, a social worker and an audiologist. A questionnaire was completed; clinical examination and audiological assessment was performed. Those confirmed and in doubt cases were referred for further audiological and clinical assessment including computerized tomography scan and auditory brain stem response.

The over all prevalence of hearing impairment was 13% (1241 out of 9540). Those with sensorineural hearing loss was 142 (1.5%) and those with severe to profound (76-100 decibels loss) was 68 (0.7%) 7 of them suffered from unilateral while 135 suffered from bilateral sensorineural hearing loss.

The prevalence rate of severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss is high in our country compared to developed countries. Cochlear implant is a useful procedure for those with severe and profound sensorineural hearing loss but hearing aids must be tried first. There is definitely a requirement for additional hearing and speech centers to be available, which, are at least accessible in the big cities in each province.