Prevalence of Balance Impairment in Children with Hearing Impairment

Background: Deafness, defined as a hearing impairment so severe that it prevents processing linguistic information through auditory senses, is believed to be linked to delays in motor development, including balance. Objective: To figure out the prevalence of balance impairment in children with hearing impairment. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was employed, involving 377 children aged between 8 and 15 years with hearing impairments, selected through non-probability convenient sampling. Data were collected from special education schools using the Standardized Walking Obstacle Course (SWOC) and Timed Up and Go (TUG) tests. The data were compiled and analyzed using SPSS version 25, with descriptive statistics used to present the findings. Results: The study included 377 children with a mean age of 11.08 years; 21.5% were female, and 78.5% were male. Approximately 77.7% of participants demonstrated poor balance skills in the SWOC test, while 37.1% showed fair or poor performance in the TUG test. Conclusion: The study found a high prevalence of balance impairment in children with hearing impairments. Both male and female participants reported symptoms of balance impairments, with 77.7% demonstrating poor balance skills in the SWOC test and 37.1% showing fair or poor performance in the TUG test. These findings suggest that children with hearing impairments are at significant risk for balance deficits.