Ocular profile among hearing impaired children

To report ocular abnormalities among identified hearing impaired children and their prevalence in relation to normal hearing children.

A sample of 302 identified children with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss at King Abdul-Aziz University Hospital and Rehabilitation Medical Center of the Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, after full audiological assessment, aged below 15 years, were screened ophthalmologically during the period from December 1997 to December 2002. Visual testing and cycloplegic refraction using 1% Cyclogyl was performed followed by retinal examination using direct and indirect ophthalmoscopy. Electroretinography was recorded for those with retinal pigmentary changes. One hundred control normal hearing children were examined, and chi square test applied.

A total of 302 hearing impaired children were examined, 199 (66%) were boys and 103 (34%) were girls, age ranged between 2-15 years. Hearing loss was bilateral severe to profound. One hundred and eighty-four (61%) have one or more ocular abnormalities, while 147 (48.7%) had one or more significant error of refraction. In the control cases, 23% had error of refraction with a chi square test of 20.2 (p<0.001), which is significant.

Ocular anomalies are more commonly found among deaf children than those with normal hearing. Early ophthalmological assessment of hearing impairment is advisable to detect any ocular anomalies, followed by correction to help in the academic performance of these children.