HEARING LOSS, ITS IMPLICATIONS AND PUBLIC HEALTH INTERVENTIONS

Globally, over 5% of world's population (More than 360 million population), have disabling hearing loss according to new global estimates on prevalence; 91% of these are adults and 9% of these are children. Overall, prevalence of disabling hearing loss in children all over the world is 1.7%.(1) Prevalence of hearing loss in South Asia in pediatric age group is 2.4%. Consequences of hearing impairment include inability to interpret speech sounds, often producing a reduced ability to communicate, delay in language acquisition, economic and educational disadvantage, social isolation and stigmatization. Fifty percent of hearing loss is preventable through public health actions. 1 From time to time, public and private sector enterprises plan at both, small and large scale to help people with hearing impairment. But still the services available and implementation status of actions to combat ear disorders is in naive stage. The earlier the parent/family accept the fact of impairment and follow a well-planned rehabilitation program under professional supervision, the better are the chances for the child and the family to lead a more normal life.