Hearing loss among prison inmates in India — a pilot study

Ear and hearing health in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and older: A scoping review

OBJECTIVE

Review empirical research investigating the prevalence, experiences and management of hearing loss and ear disease in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults.

DESIGN

Scoping review.

STUDY SAMPLES

Searches of four electronic databases, Advanced Google, and key webpages identified 16,373 studies - 21 met inclusion criteria: original research relating to hearing/ear health and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults.

RESULTS

Fourteen studies measured prevalence of hearing loss or middle-ear dysfunction, with a rate of hearing loss at an estimated 50% (reports ranging from 8% to 100%). Five studies reported views, attitudes, and experiences of hearing loss, with results showing hearing loss negatively impacted individual experiences in health and justice systems, and health professionals had limited understanding of the socioeconomic risk factors of middle ear disease. No articles directly reported on hearing loss management.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a lack of research into the hearing health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults, despite its critical importance in addressing health and social inequities. Given the widely varying and imprecise estimated rates of hearing loss detected, urgent action is needed to obtain accurate prevalence estimates and, in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, identify the best methods of screening and managing hearing loss.

Hearing loss among inmates of a juvenile correctional facility in Nigeria

Background

Good hearing is essential to learning and rehabilitation of adolescent and young adults in juvenile correctional facilities. Hearing screening programme is not commonly in place for this incarcerated group.

Objective

To evaluate hearing threshold among inmates of a juvenile correctional facility in Nigeria and compare pattern of hearing loss with a control group.

Methods

A total of 135 inmates and equal number of age and sex matched control responded to interviewer-administered questionnaire followed by otoscopy and audiometry.

Results

Mean age of inmates was 19 years ±2.0, while that of control was 18yrs ± 2.5. (p-value 0.077). Four (3%) inmates had bleeding from the ear; otoscopy revealed traumatic tympanic membrane perforation in 2(1.5%) of them. Prevalence of hearing loss was 19.2% and for disabling hearing loss it was 1.4%. Conductive hearing loss was the most common 33(24.4%). Inmates had consistently worse mean hearing thresholds than controls across all frequencies tested in both ears (p-value <0.001).

Conclusion

Hearing loss is prevalent among inmates of juvenile correctional facility. Rehabilitation programme should be balanced with detail attention to health needs of inmates; including pre-admission and periodic hearing screening.