Prevalence of childhood hearing impairment in the County of Stockholm - a 40-year perspective from Sweden and other high-income countries

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the current prevalence of childhood hearing impairment (HI) in Sweden and to compare our data with previous studies from Sweden and other high-income countries.

Design: This was a cross-sectional study based on a register of children diagnosed with HI. Our results were compared with prevalence data from 18 studies from Sweden and other high-income countries, covering data collected from 1964 to the present.

Study sample: In December 2017, a total of 1911 out of 524,957 children 0-18 years of age and living in Stockholm County were enrolled in the regional programme for HI intervention.

Results: The overall prevalence of unilateral and bilateral HI >20 dB was 3.6/1000. The overall prevalence of bilateral HI >40 dB HL was 1.5/1000, split into age groups the prevalence was 0.4/1000 (<1 year of age), 1/1000 (1-4 years), 1.5/1000 (5-9 years), 1.6/1000 (10-14 years), and 2.14/1000 (15-18 years). From 1 to 18 years of age, the prevalence increased by a factor of 3.5 for moderate to profound HI >40 dB HL (0.7 to 2.4/1000).

Conclusion: The prevalence of HI across childhood in Stockholm County today is not significantly different from previous reports from Sweden and other high-income countries.

Keywords: Hearing impairment; children; high-income countries; prevalence; register.