ISSN: 2476-2490
Authors: Taoussi AA*, Balanmo A and Ali YA
Background: Hearing impairment is a common disability affecting approximately 360 million people worldwide, with around 75% of cases occurring in developing countries. The causes of this condition are diverse. Objectives: To determine the prevalence, describe the socioprofessional profile and identify the main etiologies of patients with hearing impairment in a tertiary care hospital in N'Djamena, Chad. Method: This was a prospective cross-sectional study, conducted from November 1st, 2020 to October 31st, 2021 at the ENT and Head and Neck Surgery Department of the Renaissance University Hospital in N'Djaména, Chad. All patients, aged 6 years and above that were consulted for hearing impairment, were included. They were all submitted to a clinical and audiometric examination. Results: This study ascertained the hospital prevalence of 22.5%. The sex ratio (male/female) was 3.08. The median age of patients was 35 years with an age range of 7 to 90 years. Students accounted for 24.4% of the cases. Conductive hearing loss was noted in 46.8%, sensorineural hearing loss in 37.2% and mixed hearing loss in 16% of the study population. Regarding the etiology, chronic suppurative otitis media was observed in 24.5% of the patients, presbycusis in 12.8%, seromucous otitis media in 11.7%, acoustic trauma in 10.6% and head trauma in 9.6%. Conclusion: Hearing impairment is common in ENT consultations. Most causes are due to chronic otitis media, trauma and aging. There are many preventable causes, therefore, the health care system capacity must be scaled up to address growing needs, particularly in low-income settings, which should prompt health policy makers to take appropriate action.
Keywords: Hearing Impairment; Prevalence; Students; Chronic Otitis Media; Chad
