Contributing factors to high prevalence of hearing impairment in the Elias Motsoaledi Local Municipal area, South Africa: A rural perspective.
Karin Joubert, Donna Botha
PMID 30843412WHAT IT FOUND
In rural South Africa, 19.88% had hearing impairment and 8.94% had disabling hearing impairment.
Age, female gender and self-reported hypertension were linked; impacted cerumen was common. 31% needed referral, and 68% of those needed diagnostic audiometry.
Key findings
01Hearing impairment was present in 19.88% of participants, and disabling hearing impairment was present in 8.94%.
02Age and self-reported hypertension were associated with hearing impairment, while use of ototoxic medication was not.
03Thirty-one per cent of participants required referral for further management, and 68% of those referred required diagnostic audiometry.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show that age, gender, hypertension or ear disease caused hearing impairment. It tested 850 of the planned 1,428 participants, and many absent people were men, so the sample may not represent the whole community. It was conducted in one rural municipality in Limpopo, and the paper notes causes vary by area, so the rates may not apply elsewhere. For children aged 0 to 3.11 years, the screening results were only pass or refer, so degree of hearing impairment could not be classified. Hypertension and HIV status were self-reported, which may have underestimated their prevalence and possible effect on hearing. The cause of hearing impairment was unknown for 66% of participants with disabling hearing impairment.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the 19.88% and 8.94% rates as applying to all patients in South Africa. The survey covered one rural municipality, tested 850 of the planned 1,428 participants, and many men were absent on the day of testing.