Prevalence of Hearing Loss, and Middle Ear Disease in 1351 School Age Children in Mekelle, Ethiopia

A systematic review of the prevalence of late identified hearing loss in childhood

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this systematic review was to assess the evidence about the prevalence of permanent hearing loss for children not identified from newborn hearing screening (NHS).

DESIGN

Articles were grouped into three categories based on the methodological approach: (1) all participants received diagnostic testing, (2) otoacoustic emission (OAE) or pure tone screening was completed and those not passing were referred for a diagnostic test, and (3) data were retrieved from archival records. Study characteristics, prevalence, and contextual factors were synthesised and narratively described.

STUDY SAMPLE

30 peer-reviewed articles.

RESULTS

Prevalence of permanent hearing loss per 1,000 children ranged from 0.32 to 77.87 (M = 7.30; SD = 16.87). Variations in the criteria for inclusion contributed to prevalence differences. Prevalence was higher when unilateral and milder degrees of hearing loss were included, and older children had higher prevalence (M = 13.71; SD = 23.21) than younger children (M = 1.57; SD = 0.86).

CONCLUSION

There is scant research on prevalence of childhood hearing loss after NHS that utilised methods to accurately differentiate between permanent and temporary hearing loss. Rigorous research is needed on the prevalence of permanent childhood hearing loss to inform strategies for monitoring, identification, intervention, and management.