Otitis media related hearing loss in Indonesian school children.

Objective: There are scant recent studies from low middle-income countries that investigate the impact of otitis media (OM) on hearing loss (HL) in school children.

Methods: This was a prospective epidemiological survey conducted by otorhinolaryngologists and audiologists in a sample of 7005 public school children (6-15 years) from 6 urban and rural sub-districts, in Indonesia. Children with otoscopic abnormalities or who failed a hearing-screening test conducted at school, underwent diagnostic audiometry and tympanometry.

Otitis media in indonesian urban and rural school children.

Background: Although the epidemiology of otitis media is well-known in industrialized countries, the extent of otitis media in developing Asian countries, especially in south East Asia is not well studied.

Methods: To define the burden of otitis media and its sequelae in children 6-15 years of age, we enrolled elementary and junior high school children in 6 areas in rural and urban Indonesia. Randomly selected schools and classrooms were selected.