Objective To undertake a survey on the prevalence, pathogenic factors and treatment needs of hearing impairment in children under 14 years old in Guizhou province. Methods Using the probability proportion to size (PPS) method, 2 068 children aged 0～14 years were included in the study and in 30 clusters in Guizhou province based on the WHO protocol. Results For children aged 0～14 years, the prevalence of hearing impairment was 3.48% and the prevalence of hearing disability was 1.84 %. There were statistically differences of the prevalence of hearing disability between children aged 7～ 14 years (2.66 %) and 0～ 6 years (0. 51%), and the differences also in hearing impairment between male children (4.22%) and female children (2.54%). The main causes of hearing impairment were ear diseases (50.00%), non-infective conditions (11.11%), genetic conditions (20.83 %) and unknown causes (27. 77%). 3. 58% of all subjects needed medical or surgical treatment and 2. 32% needed hearing aids. Conolusion The prevalence of hearing disability of children under 14 years old in Guizhou province was higher than that of other cities. The main cause of the hearing impairment of children was otitis media with hereditary deafness also ranked in top.

OBJECTIVE: To undertake a population-based survey on the prevalence, pathogenic factors and medical requirements of ear and hearing impairment. METHOD: Using the probability proportion to size (PPS) method, 6626 residents were investigated in 30 clusters with the WHO protocol. RESULT: The prevalence of hearing impairment was 17.1% (the standardized rate: 17.6% in the whole country). Degrees of hearing impairment were mild (11.0%), moderate (4.2%), severe (1.4%), and profound (0.5%). Among them, male were 663(20.2%) and female were 468 (14.0%). The prevalence of hearing disability was 6.1% (the standardized rate: 6.5% in the whole country). The causes of hearing impairment were ear disorders (31.4%), non-infectious (42. 5%), genetic condino (6.7%), infectious disease (0.4%) and undetermined cause (29.3%). 13.8% of person needed otology and/or audiology actions. 9.1% of person needed hearing aid. CONCLUSION The prevalence of hearing impairment and hearing disability is higher than last twenty years and it can provide scientific data for drawing up precaution and control strategies on deafness for government.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Ear Diseases ; epidemiology ; Female ; Hearing Disorders ; epidemiology ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Young Adult