title: Are hearing losses among young Maori different to those found in the young NZ European population?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study was undertaken to determine if young Maori have more permanent bilateral hearing loss, or less severe and profound hearing loss than New Zealand (NZ) Europeans.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data include hearing-impaired children from birth to 19 years of age from the New Zealand Deafness Notification Database (DND) and covering the periods 1982-2005 and 2009-2013. These were retrospectively analysed, as was information on children and young people with cochlear implants.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Young Maori are more likely to be diagnosed with permanent hearing loss greater than 26 dB HL, averaged across speech frequencies, with 39-43% of hearing loss notifications listed as Maori. Maori have a lower prevalence of severe/profound losses (n=1571, chi squared=22.08, p=0.01) but significantly more bilateral losses than their NZ European peers (n=595, Chi-squared=9.05, p=0.01). The difference in severity profile is supported by cochlear implant data showing Maori are less likely to receive a cochlear implant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There are significant differences in the proportion of bilateral (compared to unilateral) losses and in the rates and severity profile of hearing loss among young Maori when compared with their NZ European peers. This has implications for screening and other hearing services in NZ.
authors.affiliation: Levare Limited, PO Box 32 374, Devonport, Auckland 0744, New Zealand. janet@levare.co.nz.
authors.forename: Janet E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Digby
authors.forename: Suzanne C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Purdy
authors.forename: Andrea S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Welch
authors.forename: Peter R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Thorne
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000145:classification / Q000208:ethnology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009520:New Zealand / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D044465:White People; D055815:Young Adult