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World Hearing Day: Major causes of hearing loss in children

World Hearing Day: Major causes of hearing loss in children
Inability of a child to respond to loud noises must be taken seriously.

Globally over 400 million people worldwide are living with disabling hearing loss, of these more than 30 million are children. Get to know the major causes of hearing loss in children and how parents can help prevent or address this problem.

Written by Longjam Dineshwori |Updated : March 3, 2021 10:56 AM IST

Every year, this day (March 3) is marked World Hearing Day to raise awareness on how to prevent deafness and hearing loss and promote ear and hearing care across the world. The theme for World Hearing Day 2021 is "Hearing care for All Screen. Rehabilitate. Communicate". The World Health Organization (WHO) is marking the World Hearing Day today with the launch of the first-ever World Report on Hearing (WRH).

Globally over 400 million people worldwide are living with disabling hearing loss, revealed the World Report on Hearing, and warned that this number that could grow to nearly 700 million by 2050. Of these over 400 million people with hearing loss, more than 30 million are estimated to be children. The WHO estimates that about 60 per cent of hearing loss in children under 15 years of age is due to preventable causes. What are the main causes of hearing loss in children? What are the warning signs and symptoms of hearing problems in children? How parents can play role in preventing hearing loss in children? Dr Amrapali Pawar Keny (MS ENT) Prathamesh ENT clinic, Santacruz, Mumbai & Medical Consultant ENTOD International, will shed light on these questions and more related to hearing loss in children.

According to Dr Keny, hearing loss is the second most common cause of years lived with disability globally, with estimates suggesting that it accounts for as much as 4.7 percent of the total YLD. In India, WHO estimates indicate a hearing impairment prevalence of over 6 percent of the population with prevalence of childhood-onset deafness pegged at 2 percent.

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Causes of hearing loss in children

In children, major causes of hearing loss include genetic or congenital disorders, rubella during pregnancy, birth asphyxia or severe jaundice in the neonatal period. Later in life, hearing loss may be caused due to chronic ear infections, an injury, infectious diseases such as meningitis or mumps or exposure to loud noise. Chronic otitis media or accumulation of fluid in the ear is another common cause of hearing loss in children, the expert said.

How to prevent hearing loss in children

Dr Keny reiterated that almost 60 percent of childhood hearing loss is preventable. Therefore, it is important for parents to be adequately aware about conditions that may lead to hearing loss and undertake preventive measures.

According to him, ensuring that ear infections get timely medical attention, children are protected from loud noise and any hearing related anomaly is immediately reported to the doctor are essential ways to prevent hearing loss or related disability. In most cases, early identification and intervention with assistive technology cochlear implants and speech therapy can enable children lead normal lives and reach their true potential. Since hearing ability is critical for children to develop speaking and communication ability, early intervention becomes extremely important.

Signs of hearing problems in children

For parents it is extremely important to stay alert to any signs of hearing anomaly in children, said Dr Keny.

Inability of a child to respond to loud noises, speech delay or inability to follow directions must be taken seriously and reported to the doctor, he added.

According to the WHO estimates, up to 5 in every 1000 infants have severe-to-profound hearing impairment. In India, over 27,000 children are born deaf every year. Unfortunately, hearing impairment or loss is often neglected as it cannot be seen and in most cases the diagnosis is delayed.

Many experts have been proposing for Universal Newborn Hearing Screening program in India so that hearing impairment can be diagnosed early and given timely interventions.