Postural control assessment in students with normal hearing and sensorineural hearing loss.
BACKGROUND
Children with sensorineural hearing loss can present with instabilities in postural control, possibly as a consequence of hypoactivity of their vestibular system due to internal ear injury.


OBJECTIVE
To assess postural control stability in students with normal hearing (i.e., listeners) and with sensorineural hearing loss, and to compare data between groups, considering gender and age.


METHODS
This cross-sectional study evaluated the postural control of 96 students, 48 listeners and 48 with sensorineural hearing loss, aged between 7 and 18 years, of both genders, through the Balance Error Scoring Systems scale. This tool assesses postural control in two sensory conditions: stable surface and unstable surface. For statistical data analysis between groups, the Wilcoxon test for paired samples was used.


RESULTS
Students with hearing loss showed more instability in postural control than those with normal hearing, with significant differences between groups (stable surface, unstable surface) (p<0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Students with sensorineural hearing loss showed greater instability in the postural control compared to normal hearing students of the same gender and age.
Department of Physiotherapy, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife, PE, Brasil; Department of Physiotherapy, Centro Universitário do Vale do Ipojuca (UNIFAVIP/DeVry), Caruaru, PE, Brasil. Electronic address: renatomelo10@hotmail.com.
Renato de Souza
Rde S
Melo
Department of Physiotherapy, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife, PE, Brasil.
Andrea
A
Lemos
Department of Physiotherapy, Faculdade dos Guararapes (FG), Jaboatão dos Guararapes, PE, Brasil.
Carla Fabiana da Silva Toscano
CF
Macky
Department of Physiotherapy, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife, PE, Brasil; Department of Statistics, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife, PE, Brasil.
Maria Cristina Falcão
MC
Raposo
Department of Physiotherapy, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife, PE, Brasil.
Karla Mônica
KM
Ferraz
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*; D012678:Sensation Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
Deafness; Desempenho psicomotor; Destreza motora; Doenças vestibulares; Motor skills; Postura; Posture; Psychomotor performance; Surdez; Vestibular diseases