Open AccessPrevalence and patterns of hearing impairment in Egypt: a national household survey
Author(s) -
O. S. Abdelhamid,
Oussama Khatib,
Ameera Syafiqah Aly,
Mohamad Faizul Azham Morad,
Samir M. Kamel
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
eastern mediterranean health journal/eastern mediterranean health journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.442
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1687-1634
pISSN - 1020-3397
DOI - 10.26719/2007.13.5.1170
Subject(s) - hearing loss , otitis , presbycusis , demography , medicine , prevalence , geography , audiology , environmental health , population , surgery , sociology
We conducted a national household survey to estimate the prevalence and causes of hearing impairment in Egypt. From 6 randomly selected governorates (Alexandria, Dakahlia, Luxor, Marsa Matrouh, Minia and North Sinai), 4000 individuals were screened for hearing loss. The prevalence of hearing loss was 16.0% with no significant sex differences. There were significant differences between the age groups and governorates: Marsa Matrouh had the highest prevalence of hearing loss (25.7%) and North Sinai the lowest (13.5%); those > or = 65 years had the highest prevalence (49.3%), but it was also high in those aged 0-4 years (22.4%). Otitis media with effusion (30.8%) was the commonest cause of hearing loss, followed by presbycusis (22.7%).