Postural control assessment in students with normal hearing and sensorineural hearing loss.

INTRODUCTION Children with sensorineural hearing loss can present with instabilities in postural control, possibly as a consequence of hypoactivity of their vestibular system due to internal ear injury. OBJECTIVE To assess postural control stability in students with normal hearing (i.e., listeners) and with sensorineural hearing loss, and to compare data between groups, considering gender and age. METHODS This cross-sectional study evaluated the postural control of 96 students, 48 listeners and 48 with sensorineural hearing loss, aged between 7 and 18 years, of both genders, through the Balance Error Scoring Systems scale. This tool assesses postural control in two sensory conditions: stable surface and unstable surface. For statistical data analysis between groups, the Wilcoxon test for paired samples was used. RESULTS Students with hearing loss showed more instability in postural control than those with normal hearing, with significant differences between groups (stable surface, unstable surface) (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS Students with sensorineural hearing loss showed greater instability in the postural control compared to normal hearing students of the same gender and age.