Demography and etiology of congenital sensorineural hearing loss in children (original) (raw)

Background: The prevalence of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is 2-3 per 1000 live births in India, and out of 1000 babies, 1 is having profound degree of hearing loss at birth or in the pre-lingual age group. Hearing loss is categorized as syndromic or non-syndromic hearing loss. The present study was done to identify and diagnose children with SNHL and study the etiological profile, so that all necessary timely precautions may be taken as SNHL in pediatric age group affects not only development of speech and language, but also emotional, social and behavioural development.Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was carried out in Department of ENT of a tertiary care centre, in 50 children with congenital SNHL. Data on epidemiological and etiological factors were collected. All cases were analyzed for detailed history and underwent clinical and audiological assessment. Results: Majority of cases presented between 2 and 4 years of age, however age of detection of congenita...