Assessment of Hearing Status by Pure Tone Audiogram—An Institutional Study

Abstract

Aim: To assess the hearing status of the study subjects in terms of degree and type of hearing loss, and establish the burden of this disability in the society. Materials and methods: This is a prospective study conducted in patients who attend our OPD. After an otorhinolaryngeal examination, all the patients were subjected to pure tone audiometry using MAICA-MA52 audiometer. Results: Our study comprises 1012 males (64%) and 563 females (36%). Out of this, about 15% have conductive deafness and 42% have sensorineural hearing loss. About 29% suffer from mild hearing loss, 26% moderate and 11% severe hearing loss. The alarming information is that about 5% have total hearing loss of Sudden Sensorineural type (SSNHL). Conclusion: Pure tone audiometry is cost effective and easy to perform. Early diagnosis and timely intervention will reduce the morbidity of deafness in our country. Hence it is necessary to identify and treat sudden sensorineural hearing loss and noise induced hearing loss at an early stage.