title: Deafness in Italy: an epidemiological and socio-demographic study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Hearing loss is very common in our society, but epidemiological data on deafness in Italy is lacking. A.I.R.S. onlus (Italian Association for Research on Deafness) yearly launches the National Day for the Fight Against Deafness (NDFAD). During this events, that are held every year, it is possible to perform a free hearing test in all the facilities that have joined the initiative throughout Italy (240 hospitals joined in 2011).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  to report data collected throughout the "A.I.R.S. National Day for the Fight against Deafness" of the last years, focusing in particular but not only on audiometric outcomes.
  
  
  METHODS
  demographic and social data, as well as audiometric outcomes, was collected on forms that have been subsequently stored in a on-line database and analyzed with MySQL and Microsoft Excel.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This data are important in order to describe the "hearing health" of the Italian population, and is a first step towards creating a database with epidemiological and preventive aims, a strongly felt need both at national and at regional level.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sensory Organs, Umberto I Polyclinic, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy. filippo.mazzei@gmail.com.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Altissimi
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Giacomello
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mazzei
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Turchetta
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Carchiolo
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Orlando
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Testugini
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cianfrone
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Cammeresi
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cianfrone
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D002648:Child; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009790:Occupations; D055815:Young Adult