Prevalence of hearing impairment in siblings of deaf children.

OBJECTIVE To assess the prevalence of hearing impairment in siblings of children with profound to total hearing impairment. METHOD Two hundred and twenty siblings of children at a deaf school in Karachi completed the screening program. This consisted of a questionnaire and pure tone audiometry. RESULTS One out of three (73 siblings) had a threshold of 25 dB or greater in their better ear. In a population, already aware of hearing loss, we note that only fifteen siblings had a previous audiogram. Although a positive family history is associated with hearing impairment in the siblings, no increase due to consanguineous marriages was noted. CONCLUSION This assessment has underlined the need to increase public awareness of hearing impairment. It has also exposed the lack of it in families exposed to the condition.