Abstract

Introduction. Permanent hearing loss (PHL) in childhood, if unrecognized, results in severe social and educational handicaps. The objective of this communication is ti describe patients diagnosed with PHL in a single institution. Material and method. Children attending the Otorhinolaryngology Department of Hospital Padre Hurtado, Santiago, Chile, between April 2005 and April 2012, diagnosed with PHL were included. Data was collected including age at diagnose, type and severity of the hearing loss, and presence of risk factors. Median difference was assayed by Wilcoxon test. Results. In the period of study 80 patients were diagnosed with PHL, 56 of them with bilateral (BPHL) and 24 with unilateral (UPHL). Children with BPHL had a median age of 35 months at the time of diagnose (range 1-144 months). 49 cases were neurosensorial, including two cases of auditory neuropathy, 5 were conductive and 2 combined. 24 cases were severe or profound hearing loss (43%). 36 of them had known risk factors (64%), and in 7 cases there was no record. Patients with UPHL had a median age of 72 months at the time of diagnose (range 12-156 months), significantly different from the BPHL group (p: 0.003). 23 were neurosensorial and 16 were severe or profound (67%). 6 patients had known risk factors (25%) and in 5 cases there was no record. Conclusion. The age of diagnose of BPHL in our institution is late in terms of early intervention, due to the lack of a national program of universal screening. UPHL patients seem to have less risk factors partially explaining the late diagnose.