International Journal of Head and Neck Surgery

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VOLUME 11 , ISSUE 1 ( January-March, 2020 ) > List of Articles

Original Article

Epidemiological Study of Different Syndromes in 300 Deaf and Mute Children

Himani Dhingra, Dinesh Madhur, Vikrant Kamboj, Sharad Hernot, Sachin Kadam, Rigved Nittala, Mohit Pareek

Keywords : Childhood deafness, Deafness epidemiological profile, Syndromic hearing loss

Citation Information : Dhingra H, Madhur D, Kamboj V, Hernot S, Kadam S, Nittala R, Pareek M. Epidemiological Study of Different Syndromes in 300 Deaf and Mute Children. Int J Head Neck Surg 2020; 11 (1):1-5.

DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10001-1354

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

Published Online: 30-05-2020

Copyright Statement:  Copyright © 2020; The Author(s).


Abstract

Objective: To study the epidemiological aspects of syndromic hearing loss (HL) in deaf and mute children below 15 years of age. Materials and methods: The study “Epidemiological study of different syndromes in 300 deaf and mute children” was conducted on 300 deaf and mute children below 15 years of age at Rohtak (Haryana) from August 2013 to July 2014. Three hundred deaf and mute candidates were included in the study from various schools for deaf and mute children in the Rohtak city and deaf and mute children attended the ENT outdoor at the Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Rohtak, Haryana, India, for the evaluation of their deafness. Information regarding patient's age, sex, religion, age of presentation, residence, family history of deafness, consanguineous marriage in the family, socioeconomical status of the family, literacy and occupation of the parents, and developmental history of the candidate was recorded from the parents and guardians using a standard questionnaire. Audiological tests were done to determine the type and the degree of HL. Results: Out of 300 deaf and mute children, syndromic HL was found in 44 cases (14.66%). Most common systems involved in syndromic HL were ocular in eight patients (18.18%) followed by skeletal in four patients (9.09%) and craniofacial malformation in four cases (9.09%). Out of 300 deaf and mute cases, well-recognized syndromes were found in five cases (1.66%) and the most common syndrome found was Waardenburg's syndrome (2 cases). In the 44 syndromic HL cases, 36 patients were males (81.81%) and 8 patients were females (18.18%). Out of 44 syndromic HL cases, 42 (95.45%) were Hindu by religion and 2 (4.54%) were Muslim. Residence wise, 20 patients (45.45%) were from a rural area and 24 patients (54.54%) were from an urban area. Out of 44 syndromic HL cases, fathers were illiterate in 5 cases (11.36%), while mothers were illiterate in 23 cases (52.27%), while fathers were educated in 39 cases (88.63%) and mothers were educated in 21 cases (47.72%). By occupation, fathers were laborers in 25 cases (56.81%) and mothers were housewives in 38 cases (86.36%). Socioeconomically, 31 patients (70.45%) were from the lower–middle and middle socioeconomical status, while 11 cases (13.63%) were from the lower socioeconomical status. History of consanguineous marriage was present in two cases (4.54%). Both these cases were Hindu by religion. Family history (genetic etiology) of HL was present in six cases (13.63%) and acquired cases were found in nine cases (20.45%). In 29 cases (65.90%), no etiology was found. Conclusion: From the above results, we can see that syndromic HL is more common in the male urban child. Mothers who are illiterate and housewife are a risk factor for deafness. Syndromic HL is more common in the lower and lower–middle socioeconomical status families. Any newborn with ocular skeletal and craniofacial abnormalities should be urgently evaluated for deafness.


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