Deaf Children

Deafness is the invisible disability and the most common human sensory defects. It leads to difficult speech development poor educational and employment prospects of childhood. Comprehensive otologic and audiological evaluations are very much essential for aetiological assessment of hearing impaired children and management efficacy. The aetiology of deaf Children was diverse. Infection was the predominationg aetiologial factor (38%). The infections were : Measles (31.5%), Pneumonia in (26.2%), Typhoid (21.5%), Maternal Rubella (5.2%), Varicella (5.2%) , Mumps (5.2%) and Meningitis (5.2%). 48% of deaf child had a parental suspicion of deafness below the one year of age. 35% had a positive family history and 32% had history of consanguinal marriage. The deaf children were managed with hearing device, among them 89% with hearing aid and 11% with cochlear implant 42.7% of child used hearing aid in both ears. The results of aided audiogram showde that, the gain after using hearing aid within 31-60 dB were 80%.10% in right ear, 71.10% in left year and 70.00% in both ears, so average gain after using hearing aid was 74% within 31- 60 dB.