Cross-sectional epidemiology of hearing loss in Australian children aged 11-12 years old and 25-year secular trends.
Arch Dis Child
; 103(6): 579-585, 2018 06.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-29386180
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
In a national study of Australian children aged 11-12 years old, we examined the (1) prevalence and characteristics of hearing loss, (2) its demographic risk factors and (3) evidence for secular increases since 1990.METHODS:
This is a cross-sectional CheckPoint wave within the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. 1485 children (49.8% retention; 49.7% boys) underwent air-conduction audiometry. Aim 1 hearing loss (≥16 decibels hearing level (dB HL)) was defined in four ways to enable prior/future comparisons high Fletcher Index (mean of 1, 2 and 4 kHz; primary outcome relevant to speech perception), four-frequency (1, 2, 4 and 8 kHz), lower frequency (1 and 2 kHz) and higher frequency (4 and 8 kHz); aim 2 logistic regression of hearing loss by age, gender and disadvantage index; and aim 3 P for trend examining CheckPoint and reported prevalence in studies arranged by date since 1990.RESULTS:
For high Fletcher Index, the prevalence of bilateral and unilateral hearing loss ≥16 dB HL was 9.3% and 13.3%, respectively. Slight losses (16-25 dB HL) were more prevalent than mild or greater (≥26 dB HL) losses (bilateral 8.5% vs 0.8%; unilateral 12.5% vs 0.9%), and lower frequency more prevalent than higher frequency losses (bilateral 11.0% vs 6.9%; unilateral 15.4% vs 11.5%). Demographic characteristics did not convincingly predict hearing loss. Prevalence of bilateral/unilateral lower and higher frequency losses ≥16 dB HL has risen since 1990 (all P for trend <0.001). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Childhood hearing loss is prevalent and has risen since 1990. Future research should investigate the causes, course and impact of these changes.Palavras-chave
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Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Perda Auditiva
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2018
Tipo de documento:
Article