Ophthalmologic abnormalities in children from a Turkish school for the deaf

The aim of this study was to determine the nature and prevalence of ophthalmologic abnormalities in deaf children. Complete ophthalmologic examinations were performed on 104 children aged 7 to 20 years from a Turkish school for the deaf. Of 104 children, 42 children (40.4%) had some form of ophthalmologic abnormality, with the vast majority (31 patients, 29.8%) being refractive errors. The prevalence of hypermetropia, myopia and astigmatism was found to be higher over the general population. Of 104 children, 19 (18.2%) had ocular motility disturbances and one had external adnexal anomaly. Two (1.8%) children had anterior segment and nine (8.6%) children had posterior segment pathologies. Routine ophthalmologic examinations should be carried out in this population because deaf children use sight to compensate for hearing problems. Ophthalmologists play an important role in the diagnosis and correction of ophthalmologic abnormalities.