The Prevalance Of Hearing Loss causing disability among young adult males in Turkey between 2009-2011 -

Objective: It is reported that the most common cause of disability in the world is hearing loss following intellectual disability. Our aim in this study is to investigate the distribution of the hearing loss caused disability among young adult men having gone through medical examinations for compulsory military service between 2009 and 2011. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional study. We reviewed the prevalence of hearing loss among 1.777.500 people who were referred for medical examination according to Turkish National Military Regulations between 2009 and 2011. The data for this study has been obtained from the Health Department of the Ministry of Defense and studies have been started after acquiring the necessary ethical permissions from the Gulhane Military Medical Academy (GMMA) Ethics Committee. Results: In this cross-sectional study, the prevalence of hearing loss that have become sequela and caused disability (40dB and above) has been identified as 3.32 per thousand in 2009, 3.95 per thousand in 2010 and 3.86 per thousand in 2011. The most common subtypes of hearing loss are unilateral profound hearing impairment including deafness (one ear normal, the other one with 90dB and above hearing loss) (28.9%), bilateral severe hearing impairment (65 dB or more hearing loss) (25.3%) and bilateral moderate hearing impairment (40-65 dB hearing loss) (19.3%). Conclusion: Although mostly acute infectious diseases have been observed in infancy and childhood, these diseases may become sequela at the level of disability in older ages (in advancing ages). Incidence of the disability can be reduced by early diagnosis and appropriate treatment especially during infancy and childhood.