Ocular Disorders in Turkish Children with Sensorineural Hearıng Loss: A Cross-Sectional Study and Literature Review.

PURPOSE: To investigate types and frequencies of ocular disorders in children with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), and to emphasize the importance of ophthalmological examination in these children.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis of the examination records of children examined in our instutititon between January 2011 and September 2014 was performed. Ocular disorders of children with SHNL were selectively reviewed.

RESULTS

Among 55340 patients, SNHL was present in 110 (0.2%). SNHL was bilateral in 104 patients (94.5%) and unilateral in 6 (5.5%). Ninety-one cases had congenital hearing loss (83%), and 19 (17%) had acquired SNHL. Forty cases (36%) had an ocular disorder, either refractive or non-refractive or both. Seventy cases (64%) had normal ocular examination. No difference was found between congenital or acquired SNHL cases in terms of possessing an ocular disorder (p=0.0962). The most common ocular abnormality was refractive error, mainly hypermetropia (21%). There was no significant difference between the prevalences of ocular abnormalities among cases with different lateralites or severities of SNHL (p=0.051, p=0.874, respectively). Twenty-six cases (23.6%) had SNHL as a component of a genetically defined syndrome. All of them had coexisting refractive or non-refractive ocular abnormalities. Some genetic, non-syndromic abnormalities, including Achondroplasia, Celiac disease, and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, were diagnosed in four cases, among whom refractive errors and/or strabismus were detected.

CONCLUSIONS

Due to the common coexistence of ocular problems and SNHL in children, ophthalmological screening is crucial. Families and healthcare providers should be informed about the critical role of ophthalmic assesment in these children for their future quality of life.