title: A survey of ear and hearing disorders amongst a representative sample of grade 1 schoolchildren in Swaziland.
abstract: A representative sample of Grade 1 (first year school entry) schoolchildren in Swaziland were surveyed during a single week to determine the prevalence of ear and hearing disorders: 79.8% had both normal ears and normal hearing, 16.8% had an ear disorder, but 80% of them had normal hearing. The most common disorder was impacted wax, with a prevalence rate of 74/1000. Middle ear disorders were common and the prevalence rate for children with active middle ear disease was 30/1000 (17/1000 having a hearing loss), and for children with inactive ear disease, the prevalence was 21/1000 (5/1000 having a hearing loss); 8/1000 children were found to have a sensorineural hearing loss, 5.3/1000 unilateral and 2.1/1000 bilateral. Improved treatment of acute otitis media, which is also common in the pre-school age group, could reduce the sequelae of the disorder, which has a deleterious effect on hearing and impairs educational achievement once the children enrol at school.
authors.affiliation: Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Swart
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lemmer
authors.forename: J N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Parbhoo
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Prescott
mesh_terms: D000158:Acoustic Impedance Tests; D000293:Adolescent; D001299:Audiometry; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D013541:Eswatini / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D010033:Otitis Media / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D012574:Schools