Saving our Children

Saving our Children

Being exposed to loud noises is one of the most common causes of permanent hearing loss in children. There is a need for appropriate public health actions such as school hearing programs, regular screening camps for hearing loss in underprivileged communities, and  increasing awareness through social and electronic media

By Dr. Suneela Garg/ Dr Kalika Gupta

Globally, 360 million people have hearing disorders and among them nearly 32 million are children. Prevalence of hearing loss in South Asia in paediatric age group is 2.4. Overall, prevalence of disabling hearing loss in children all over the world is 1.7%. The incidence of hearing loss in the newborn population is estimated to range from 1-3 per 1,000 live births and in school aged children from 30-56 per 1,000.

The prevalence rises in older infants and toddlers if mild conductive hearing losses associated with otitis media with effusion are included in these estimates. Therefore, it becomes very important to identify hearing morbidities in young age only and start treatment as soon as possible. To identify children with hearing loss that may hinder their ability to communicate, a systematic program for screening all children at certain ages and grades and for screening at-risk children must be implemented.

Screening and early diagnosis is the objective of primary health care. Hence, appropriate public health actions like school hearing programs, regular screening camps for hearing loss in under privileged communities , increasing awareness about otological disorders through social and electronic media and many other such measures would soon bring forth a world where hearing impairment will be thing of the past. Towards this noble goal, screening programs have a major role to play. But it is important to remember that a hearing screening is a screening only and not a complete assessment of hearing sensitivity. Not passing a screening does not necessarily indicate a hearing loss but rather is an indication of the need for an in-depth audiologic evaluation as soon as possible. Further, because of the limited scope of a screening, certain audiologic or otologic problems cannot be ruled out even if the screening is passed.

Screening practitioners should include school health professional who have received hearing screening training, educational audiologist, speech language pathologist and volunteer assistants. Screening can be done annually or half yearly. Pure tone audiometry, otoacoustic emissions (for preschool children), otoscopy and tympanometry would all together add greatly to the predictive value of the screening program.

Being exposed to loud noises like walkman, noisy neighborhood, radio over and over is one of the most common causes of permanent hearing loss in adolescent age group. It usually develops slowly and without pain or other symptoms. Parents or the patient may not notice hearing deficit until it is severe. To tackle these issues, measures like using hearing protectors (earmuffs or ear plugs), controlling volume and efforts to make our surroundings noise free should be made. For this, we need some overly enthusiastic community hearing programs and camps to impart knowledge and assess the practices of people regarding ear care.

Approach to reduce hearing loss has a step ladder like pathway starting from the grassroots level and reaching to tertiary level care like proving hearing aids, cochlear implants, etc. In this endeavour, public health professionals and otologists are the foundation stones.

So, let’s join hands and make life more fulfilling and joyful experience for those with hearing disorders.

(The authors are Director Professor/PG, Community Medicine, MAMC, New Delhi)