ORIGINAL ARTICLE
PILOT HEARING SCREENING IN SCHOOLCHILDREN FROM ARMENIA, RUSSIA, KYRGYZSTAN, AND AZERBAIJAN
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1
Teleaudiology and Screening Department, World Hearing Center, Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing, Poland
2
Heart Failure and Cardiac Rehabilitation Department, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland
3
Institute of Sensory Organs, Poland
4
Interdisciplinary Student’s Scientific Society at the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing and Medical University of Warsaw, The Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing and Medical University of Warsaw, Poland
5
Oto-Rhino-Laryngology Surgery Department, World Hearing Center, Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing
A - Research concept and design; B - Collection and/or assembly of data; C - Data analysis and interpretation; D - Writing the article; E - Critical revision of the article; F - Final approval of article;
Submission date: 2020-04-20
Final revision date: 2020-05-06
Acceptance date: 2020-05-13
Publication date: 2020-08-24
Corresponding author
Weronika Świerniak
Teleaudiology and Screening Department,
World Hearing Center, Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing, Poland,
email: w.swierniak@ifps.org.pl
J Hear Sci 2020;10(2):35-39
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Background:
A number of pilot hearing screening programs have been started in various countries, promoting hearing-loss detection and treatment of communication disorders in school-age children. The aim of the study was to evaluate the hearing status of schoolchildren from selected schools in Armenia, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, and Azerbaijan.
Material and methods:
Hearing screening was performed in 1022 children aged from 6 to 12 years in Armenia, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, and Azerbaijan. The study was carried out with the use of the Sensory Examination Platform. Pure-tone air-conduction hearing thresholds were obtained at 0.5–8 kHz. Hearing loss was defined as a loss of more than 20 dB in one or both ears in at least one of the following: high-frequency pure-tone average (HFPTA) and low-frequency pure-tone average (LFPTA) and others.
Results:
Normal hearing was observed in 75.4% of children. Hearing loss was observed in 13.4% of the children unilaterally and 11.2% bilaterally. Overall, the results of screening indicate higher incidence of LFHL in children than HFHL.
Conclusions:
The high prevalence of hearing loss in children from the studied countries indicates the need to conduct further hearing screening programs in this part of the world. This would allow earlier diagnosis of hearing problems and enhance the options for introducing proper diagnostic and therapeutic approaches, leading to better outcomes.
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