‘1 to 3 children per 1000 kids suffer from hearing problems’

There may not be an exact prevalence rate for hearing problems among children in India. 

A test like otoacoustic emission (OAE) can find out if there is a problem either before the first vaccination or discharge from the hospital, points out Prakash Boominathan, Professor, Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Sri Ramachandra University. 

He says, “Most multispecialty hospitals perform the test and some also do a follow up for three months and the rehabilitation can begin at as early as eight months if there are repeated failures in the tests.” 

Some of the most common reasons for hearing problems at birth is neonatal jaundice, mother suffering from TORCHS (Toxoplasma, others, rubella, cytomegalovirus - CMV, herpes) Infection in the first trimester, consanguinity and family history of the problem, says Dr Ravi Ramalingam, Senior ENT Consultant, KKR ENT Hospital & Research Institute, whose study of 5,000 newborns found that 2 per 1,000 had hearing problems. 

Dr P Nataraj of SIMS Hospital says, “Considering the large estimate of cases in India, the tests should be made imperative.”