Prevalence of middle ear pathologies in children with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss

Objectives: In poor countries, hearing aids are too expensive for sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) children's parents to offer for their children. These children may have middle ear problem, this will aggravate the level of hearing loss which may lead to delay in their ability to speak. This study is to highlight the prevalence of middle ear pathology in SNHL children. Methods: Two hundred children with bilateral sensorineural hearing toss (SNHL) were selected in our study from the outpatient clinic of ENT department of Sohag University Hospital, Egypt. Children were classified into three categories according to their middle ear status. They were normal middle ear, middle ear with unhealthy tympanic membrane or otitis media with intact drum and chronic suppurative otitis media with perforation. Results: Seventy percent of cases were normal, 25% had middle ear problem with intact tympanic membrane and 5% had chronic suppurative otitis media with perforation. Conclusion: Thirty percent of SNHL children have middle ear pathology which aggravate the degree of hearing loss. Regular evaluation of SNHL children to treat those having middle ear pathology medically and/or surgically and this may help those having no ability to have hearing aids to learn language early. (C) 2005 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.