12% of children under 10 consulting an ENT specialist are diagnosed with moderate or severe hearing loss, 32% with slight loss, according to a survey released by the JNA association. This latest alert on the sound environment of children.
This is an “alarming photograph of the hearing health of children under 10”, for the association National Hearing Day (JNA). This association dedicated to prevention in the field of hearing is publishing a survey on Thursday, first unveiled by The Parisianon the condition of children’s ears.
The barometer was “carried out on a representative panel of parents with at least one child under the age of 10”, according to JNA. The results of this Ifop poll, which BFMTV.com was able to consult, show that “55% of parents have already taken their child under 10 to an ENT doctor”.
Of these children, 44% were diagnosed with hearing loss, according to their parents’ statements, “of which 32% were mild, 10% moderate, not requiring hearing aids, and 2% severe, requiring hearing aids,” notes JNA. in a press release. The association considers that these figures are probably below reality since they only take into account children who have been diagnosed, and by an ENT doctor.
The first reasons for consulting an ENT doctor are, according to this same Ifop survey, otitis (44% of parents say they have consulted an ENT doctor for their child for this reason), ear pain (31%) and earwax plugs (23%).
Infections and noise exposure
The JNA association affirms that the environment close to children “presents a number of auditory aggressions: car, street, speech, music, household appliances, tools, but also the crèche, the school, the summer camp, the nursery”, which can damage the hearing aid.
She warns once morest the use by children of headphones and earphones, which “exert a strong acoustic pressure on the eardrums and ossicles, endangering the auditory functions, while continuously tiring the ear”.
According the World Health Organization (WHO), 60% of cases of hearing loss in children are due to causes that can be prevented by public health measures, such as ear infections.
Globally, the WHO estimates that 5% of the population “432 million adults and 34 million children) are “in need of rehabilitation services due to disabling hearing loss”.
