Incidence of occlusion due to impacted cerumen among mentally retarded adolescents.

The incidence of occlusion of the external auditory canal due to impacted cerumen was determined for 44 mentally retarded subjects in comparison with 44 nonretarded subjects. Otoscopic data were taken by qualified personnel for both groups and subjected to statistical analysis. Results confirmed that retarded adolescents have a significantly higher incidence of occlusion of the external auditory canal due to impacted cerumen than do nonretarded adolescents. Routine otoscopic examinations should be performed on the former group to ameliorate loss of hearing due to impacted cerumen.