بررسی علل و انواع کم شنوایی در کودکان 15-5 ساله مبتلا به کاهش شنوایی در شهر اصفهان

  Background : Normal hearing is essential for development of appropriate academic and psychosocial skills in children. Many causes of hearing loss are preventable and curable. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of types and probable causes of hearing loss in 15-5 years old hearing impaired children in Isfahan.   Methods: In a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted during 2007-09, 628 children aged 5-15 years with hearing problems referring to Hearing clinics in Esfahan were studied. In children with hearing loss physical exam, audiometry and tympanometry was done. Detailed information about potential etiologies of hearing loss was obtained on a questionnaire. Later common types of hearing loss and probable risk factors were evaluated. Data analysis was done with Logistic regression and Chi2 tests and SPSS version 14.   Results: The most common types of hearing loss in this group were conductive (%60.83), followed by Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SNHL) (%30.89) and mixed (%8.28). In children with conductive hearing loss the common cause was serous otitis media (%69.9), tympanic membrane (TM) perforation with or without otorrhea (%27.74), tympanosclerosis and ossicle fixation (%1.05), head and ear trauma (%1.05) and external ear deformity (% 0.26). In children with SNHL the probable etiology was history of febrile Illness (meningitis, measles, rubella, mumps) (60.62%), severe neonatal hyperbilirubinemia (%13.4), exposure to noise (%9.79), exposure to gentamycin and other ototoxic drugs (%5.67), head and ear trauma (%2.57), maternal illness (%7.21), neonatal respiratory distress (%7.21), family history of hearing loss (%2.06) and unknown (%31.44). In mixed hearing loss common etiology was Chronic Otitis Media (COM) (%78.85) and serous otitis media (%21.15).   Conclusion: Hearing loss is common in 5-8 years old children (%67.36) and common cause of hearing loss in this age group is inflammatory disease of the middle ear, which is easily preventable and curable. Specific attention is essential in this group