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Updated: Jul 12, 2026
Behavioral Assessment of Hearing in 2 to 4 Year-old Children: A Two-interval, Observer-based Procedure Using Conditioned Play-based Responses
Published on: January 23, 2017
Hearing impairment and ear diseases among children of school entry age in rural South India
R S Phaneendra Rao1, Malavika A Subramanyam, N Sreekumaran Nair
1Department of Community Medicine, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal 576119, Karnataka, India. rsp.rao@kmc.manipal.edu
Objective:
To find out the prevalence and causes of hearing impairment among children of school-entry age, in rural areas of coastal south India.
Methods:
The study adopted the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines viz., "The Prevalence of Ear and Hearing Disorders Protocol". A total of 855 children studying in the first year of school were examined using a Portable Pure Tone Audiometer and an Otoscope. Children with hearing impairment were re-examined to find out the type of hearing impairment. Mothers of all children were interviewed in their homes, in order to obtain details of socio-economic status, family history and history of consanguinity.
Results:
Hearing impairment was detected in 102 children (11.9%) and impacted wax was found to be the most common cause of hearing impairment (86.3%). On re-testing, it was predominantly conductive hearing impairment (81.6%) observed among 74 of these children. The prevalence of hearing impairment was significantly lower among children belonging to high socio-economic status (P=0.0036).
Conclusions:
Hearing impairment and preventable ear diseases were found to be important health problems among children of school-entry age group in this region. Regular screening of children of school-entry age will ensure that children begin their school-life without this disability.
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