Prevalencia de hipoacusia en la población atendida por la entidad Audiocentro, Cuenca - Ecuador, 2019-2021

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Sensorineural hearing loss is the total or partial inability to hear, which directly affects the amount of sound intelligibility at short, medium, or long distance, influencing the quality of life in psychological, cognitive, socio-emotional areas. The WorldHealth Organization (WHO) established a minimum of 26 dB HL as the threshold to consider hearing loss as disabling. OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of sensorineural hearing loss in individuals aged 36 and older, who attended Audiocentro center in the City of Cuenca, Ecuador, from2019 to 2021. METHODOLOGY: This is a study with a quantitative, cross-sectional, descriptive and retrospective approach in a time-line. Information was extracted from NOAH database with audiometric reports of patients aged 36 and older, who were treated at Audiocentro from 2019 to 2021. A review of independent variables (age, sex, origin, and occupation) and a dependent variable (hearing loss) was carried out. Data were recorded on forms and their tabulation was performed using the IBM-SPSS Statistics V 26 and Microsoft Excel software. RESULTS: Men aged 76 to 85 are more likely to experience moderate-severe (4.5%) bilateral (31.1%) sensorineural hearing loss (10.6%), while women aged 66 to 75 keep apredominant moderate (24%) bilateral (23.6%) sensorineural loss (8.2%). CONCLUSIONS: 98% of the population treated at Audiocentro from 2019 to 2021 reported their hearing deteriorated.