title: Prevalence of ear diseases in the children of Delhi.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed to assess the prevalence and profile of ear diseases in children from Delhi, India.
  
  
  METHODS
  A population-based cross-sectional door-to-door survey was carried out in two districts of Delhi, and involved children of all demographic sections of the region. A total of 4626 children aged between 18 days and 15 years underwent examinations including otoscopy, impedance audiometry and hearing screening.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all, 14.8 per cent of the study sample was diagnosed with one or more ear morbidities, the most common being cerumen impaction (7.5 per cent) and chronic suppurative otitis media (3.6 per cent). There was clinical evidence of otitis media with effusion in 2 per cent of children, and 0.96 per cent had otitis externa (bacterial and fungal). The point prevalence of acute suppurative otitis media was 0.39 per cent. In all, 0.45 per cent of children were found to have an undiagnosed foreign body within the ear canal.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The high prevalence of ear disease poses a significant public health problem in Delhi.
authors.affiliation: Department of ENT,Maulana Azad Medical College,Delhi,India.
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Chadha
authors.affiliation: Department of ENT,Maulana Azad Medical College,Delhi,India.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gulati
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine,Maulana Azad Medical College,Delhi,India.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Garg
authors.affiliation: Department of ENT,Maulana Azad Medical College,Delhi,India.
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Agarwal
mesh_terms: D000158:Acoustic Impedance Tests; D000293:Adolescent; D002571:Cerumen; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004424:Ear Canal / Q000473:pathology; D004427:Ear Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005547:Foreign Bodies; D006320:Hearing Tests; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D038781:Otoscopy; D015995:Prevalence
keywords: Cerumen; Ear Diseases; Otitis Media