Hearing Loss in Referrals of Alzahra and Edgehie Audiometry Centers in Isfahan from 1995 to 1996

Hearing loss is a major social problem and its rehabilitation is very important. Considering its prevalence in Iran, this study was performed to evaluate cases of hearing loss in referrals of Alzahra and Edgehie audiometry centers during the years 1995-1996. The descriptive strategy of this study was carried out on referrals of two audiometry clinics in Isfahan from October 1995 to 1996. Out of 8800 referrals, 2470 cases were selected and 55 out of them were excluded from the study because of a faulty record. The required data including the type of hearing loss and its intensity, age, gender, occupation, complaints and accompanied symptoms, its laterality and family history were obtained from the medical records and were statistically analyzed. Out of 2415 studied cases, 157 were male (65%) and 845 (35%) were female. In addition, 26% of them had a normal hearing ability and the remainder had a disturbance. 5.3% of them were under 5 years, 26.8% between 6 and 19 years, and 45.6% were from 20 to 49 years old. The students comprised the majority of referrals. The most common type of hearing loss were sensorineural (35.9%) and conductive (32.7%) in order of prevalence. In total, 70% of cases had bilateral hearing loss and 30% had unilateral involvement. In 40.9% of cases, there existed mild degrees of hearing loss. The most common diseases in family history in conductive type of hearing loss was middle ear inection and for sensorineural type was congenital disorders. Noise-induced hearing loss, SOM and acoustic traumas were of less significance. Mumps was identified as the most common cause of unilateral sensorineural hearing loss. The major complaint in 87.5% of patients was presbycusis and tinnitus and verbal disturbance were of less importance in this regard. Performing periodical tests and upgrading the peoplechr('39')s knowledge, especially for engaged couples and also in schools, factories and health centers can prevent the occurrence of hearing loss, especially its familial type.