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Prevalence of External and Middle Ear Pathologies among Students with Hearing Impairment in School Settings

Hearing impairment in children is a major health problem in developing countries. Studies revealed that the incidence of middle ear diseases is greater for children with severe to profound hearing impairment than for those with normal hearing. Therefore, the objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of external and middle ear pathologies among the students with hearing impairment and find out the prevalence in terms of age and gender. A descriptive cross sectional study was carried out in two selected schools for children with hearing impaired between 6 to 16 years of age. A total number of 195 participants were selected using two stage stratified sampling method. Otoscopy and Tympanometry were used to examine the external and middle ear pathologies. On otoscopic examination, non occluded ear cerumen in 49 ears (12.6%) and occluded ear cerumen in 14 ears (3.6%) were the most prevalent ear pathologies in all age groups, but was high in age group of 10 -13 years. In same age group non occluded cerumen was more prevalent in males (55.1%) where as occluded ear cerumen more prevalent in females (50%). Tympanometry was performed in 383 ears. Type “As” and “Ad” tympanograms were the most common pathological tympanograms observed in 19 ears (4.96%) and 16 ears (4.17%) respectively in age category of 14- 16 years. Both Type “As” and “Ad” tympanograms were most commonly observed among males in 27 ears (57.44%) and 15 ears (65.21%) respectively. The study shows that preventable ear diseases are a common health problem among children with hearing impairment due to lack of regular ear examination of hearing impaired children, poor public awareness, lack of audiological and otological facilities. It is essential to start preschool screening programs, provision and expansion of diagnosis facilities and raising awareness of parents’ and teachers on hearing hygiene.

Chinthika Perera (Primary Presenter,Author), Department of Disability Studies, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, chinthi29@yahoo.com;
The research was conducted as a part of the B.Sc. Speech & Hearing Sciences degree program in Sri Lanka. I specialized in Audiology and currently work as a Temporary Demonstrator in the Department of Disability Studies, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. My research interests are developing norms for behavioral and electrophysiological diagnostic tests for Sri Lanka.

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Asela Chandrasekara (Co-Presenter,Co-Author), Department of Disability Studies, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, asela_u@yahoo.com;
Ms. J.M.A.U. Chandrasekara is a lecturer (probationary) in Department of Disability Studies, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. She holds a Master of Audiology and Speech Language Pathology from Manipal University, India. Her research interests are in the areas of tinnitus and auditory evoked potentials.

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Bandini Jayasena (Co-Presenter,Co-Author), Department of Disability Studies, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, bandinij6@gmail.com;
Ms. B. N. Jayasena is a lecturer (probationary) in Audiology working for the Department of Disability Studies, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. Her research interests are in CAPD and Speech perception.

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