Prevalence  of  Chronic  Otitis  Media  and  Its  Associated  Hearing  Impairment  among  School  Going  Children

Introduction: Chronic  Suppurative  Otitis  Media  (CSOM)  is  one  of  the  common  diseases  of  the  ear,  particularly  in  children  which  causes  significant  impact  in  speech,  cognitive,  educational  and  psychological  development.  In  this  study  we  aimed  to  determine  the  prevalence  of  CSOM  and  associated  hearing  impairment  among  school  going  children  aged  5  to  15  years. Materials and Methods: This  was  a  cross  sectional  study  conducted  in  the  Department  of  ENT,  between  September  2018  to  August  2020.  The  study  procedures  involved  completing  a  questionnaire,  otoscopic  examination,  tuning  fork  test  and  audiometric  test. Results: A  total  of  525  school  children  were  examined  for  CSOM  and  associated  hearing  impairment.  Total  57  (10.8%)  cases  of  CSOM  were  detected  with  male  predominance  (6.1%  vs  4.8%).  The  prevalence  of  CSOM  was  10.8%.  Unilateral  disease  was  seen  in  77.2%  and  26.3%  had  active  disease.  Around  98.2%  had  tubotympanic  type  of  disease.  This  study  revealed  statistically  significant  association  of  CSOM  with  parent  illiteracy,  overcrowding,  swimming  in  local  pools  and  recurrent  respiratory  tract  infections. Conclusion: Health  education  through  school  health  program,  improvement  of  socioeconomic  status  and  health  facilities  should  be  used  in  early  detection  and  management  of  this  disease  thereby  reducing  the  prevalence  of  CSOM.