Spanish 
Chinese 
Russian 
German 
French 
Japanese 
Portuguese 
Hindi Research Article
Characteristics and Etiology of Hearing Loss among the School for the Deaf Children in Ife-Ijesha Senatorial District of Osun State, Nigeria
Amusa Yemisi Bola1, Adegbenro Caleb A2, Ogunniyi GM1 and Olarinoye TO1*
1Department of Surgery, ORL-Head and Neck Unit, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria
2Department of Community Health, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile- Ife, Nigeria
- *Corresponding Author:
- Dr. Olarinoye TO
Department of Surgery, ORL Unit
Obafemi Awolowo University
Ile-Ife, Nigeria
E-mail: olarinoyetunde@yahoo.com
Received date March 16, 2013; Accepted date: April 15, 2013; Published date: April 18, 2013
Citation: Bola AY, Adegbenro Caleb A, Ogunniyi GM, Olarinoye TO (2013) Characteristics and Etiology of Hearing Loss among the School for the Deaf Children in Ife-Ijesha Senatorial District of Osun State, Nigeria. J Community Med Health Educ 3:205. doi:10.4172/2161-0711.1000205
Copyright: © 2013 Bola AY, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Background: In developing countries, the awareness about hearing impairment is low. This has led to unavailability of early screening program.
Objective: To document the conditions associated with the auditory functions in children at schools for the deaf in a senatorial district of Osun state.
Design: A cross-sectional descriptive epidemiological survey. One hundred children who were attending the six special schools were studied. Medical histories were obtained through questionnaire. Otoscopy was done on all subjects and pure tone audiometry test was carried out on the children above 4 years.
Result: The mean age of detection of hearing loss was 19 months while the age at which they seek help was 24 months. There was a male preponderance and the children were admitted to the schools at 5 years. Maternal ailment occurred in 22% of the deaf children. Birth asphyxia and neonatal jaundice occurred in 19% and 15% respectively. Measles was associated with hearing loss in 39%. Impacted wax was the most common otoscopic finding. Moderately severe hearing loss occurred in 8% of the population, 28% had severe hearing loss while 64% was profoundly deaf. There was lack of access to hearing aids in over 90%. There were no adequate classrooms and teachers nor facilities for proper habilitation. 30% of the children had other handicaps.
Conclusion: The conditions associated with hearing loss in this study were largely preventable through improved obstetric care and childhood immunization programme. Early auditory screening is essential and a better habilitation programme needs to be developed for the Nigerian deaf children.
