The prevalence and causes of hearing impairment in Oman: a community-based cross-sectional study.

A community-based nationwide survey for hearing loss was conducted in Oman in 1996-97. Audiometric tests and ear examinations were conducted for 12,400 persons in phase I. For children aged less than 4 years, subjective screening tests were used. In phase II, otologists examined the hearing-impaired subjects to determine the cause. The prevalence of bilateral hearing impairment was 55/1000 (95% CI 51.08-59.47). Gender difference was not significant. The rates were 325/1000 and 17/1000, respectively, in the > or = 60-year and < 10-year age groups. Presbyacusis and middle ear diseases, respectively, were the causes of 33% and 20% of bilateral hearing impairment. In 30% of the bilateral hearing-impaired subjects, the cause could not be determined. The prevalence of bilateral disabling hearing loss was 21/1000 (95% CI 18.07-23.29). Noise-induced trauma was responsible for only 1.4% of cases of disabling hearing loss. Establishing primary ear care, introducing hearing screening for neonates and schoolchildren, promoting safe preventive practices for ear care, strengthening secondary-level ear care services and introducing comprehensive rehabilitative initiatives for the hearing-disabled are recommended to reduce the hearing loss rates.