The otological profile of a cohort of Dutch 7.5-8-year-olds.
The otological characteristics of a birth cohort of 7.5-8-year-old Dutch children are reported. Questionnaire information was available for 1004 children, while otomicroscopic, tympanometric and pure-tone audiometric data were available for 946 children. Twenty-nine per cent of the children had been treated surgically for various ENT diseases. Fifty-five per cent of the children had normal tympanic membranes, 19% mild abnormalities, and 26% moderate to severe abnormalities. At this age the prevalence of bilateral otitis media with effusion (OME), as shown by a type B tympanogram was 2.5%, while that of unilateral OME was 7%. A pure-tone average hearing level of > or = 15 dB in the better-hearing ear was found in 4% of the children. The presence of OME was associated with a mean hearing loss of 20 dB. This study shows that structural and functional middle-ear abnormalities are highly prevalent in Dutch school children.
Schilder
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AG
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Zielhuis
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GA
Van Den Broek
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P
D000158:Acoustic Impedance Tests; D000208:Acute Disease; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006320:Hearing Tests; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D010033:Otitis Media / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010034:Otitis Media with Effusion / Q000453:epidemiology; D010038:Otorhinolaryngologic Diseases / Q000601:surgery*