European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Background: Hearing impairment in school-aged children is especially essential because
it is at this age that the basis for education, mental, and language development is built.
The current study attempts to quantify the burden of hearing impairment among school
children in Sambalpur, Odisha, both rural and urban.
Methods: In addition to clinical evaluation, pure tone audiometry at speech frequency
was performed on 5500 pupils in Burla, Sambalpur, and Hirakud to screen out cases of
deafness. Attempts were made to delve into the numerous circumstances that
contributed to their deafness. In addition, other information such as the respondents'
parents' socioeconomic position, social adequacy, history of the current and past
disease, and so on was gathered.
Results: Sambalpur has the greatest incidence of deafness (11.25 percent), followed by
Hirakud NAC (10.48 percent) and Burla (9.15 percent). Deafness was most common in
children aged 5-6 years (42.93 percent, with 40.97 percent conductive and 1.81 percent
sensorineural) and least common (7.55 percent) in children aged 13 and up. There was
no discernible variation in the incidence of deafness by sex or side of affection.
Secretory otitis media (37.21 percent) was the most common cause of deafness among
cases of conductive deafness, especially among children under the age of five.
Conclusion: The study emphasises the significant prevalence of hearing impairment in
the study population and the need to increase hearing impairment-focused school health
initiatives.