Prevalence and causes of hearing impairment: a cross-sectional study in Karnali Province, Nepal

This research aims to assess the prevalence, severity and underlying causes of hearing impairments.

This cross-sectional study used multistage stratified sampling to select 2148 individuals from Salyan and Surkhet, following the World Health Organization's Ear and Hearing Survey Handbook.

Among 1946 participants, 38.9 per cent had hearing impairments, including 15.9 per cent with disabling hearing loss, with severity increasing with age. Ear diseases affected 34.3 per cent, including dull or retracted tympanic membranes (18 per cent), impacted wax (8 per cent), perforated tympanic membrane (6.1 per cent), and abnormal tympanometry (23.1 per cent). The major causes were age-related hearing loss (50.5 per cent), Eustachian tube dysfunction (23 per cent), chronic suppurative otitis media (10.8 per cent), and otitis media with effusion (4.7 per cent). Higher education and immunisation were associated with reduced risk, while chronic conditions, earaches, drainage and tinnitus increased the risk.

The high prevalence of hearing impairment, primarily from preventable causes, underscores the importance of early screening and strengthened primary health care.