Research Article

The study of hearing and balance screening in preschool children in the east of Tehran city

Abstract

Background and Aim: Hearing impairment is the third leading cause of years lived with disability in health systems, particularly affecting children through language and speech delays, cognitive issues and vestibular dysfunction. This study aimed to conduct hearing and balance screening for preschool children aged 4 to 6 years in the east of Tehran city during spring 2023.
Methods: In this study, 384 children (180 boys and 204 girls) were participated. After taking history and calculating the children's body mass index (BMI), hearing screening was performed leading to diagnosis and intervention levels. Balance function was screened using  balance subtest of short form of  Bruininks-Oseretsky test of motor proficiency second version (BOT-2) for children with entry criteria.

Results: In hearing screening, out of 768 ears, the frequency of hearing loss (HL( was found to be 11.2% that ranging from slight to moderate HL. Conductive HL had the highest frequency (9.1%), followed by sensori-neural HL(1.3%) and mixed HL(0.8%). Of these, only 3% sought intervention. In balance screening, the mean balance scores of subtest of BOT-2 for ages 4, 5, and 6 were respectively 22.05± 3.40, 26.02±3.72, and 28.13± 4.50. The boys, children with higher BMI, those with hearing loss and less physical activity had statistically significant lower scores (p<0.05).     
Conclusion: Given hearing loss with its characteristics and relationship with balance scores found in this study, the necessity of routine universal screening for hearing and balance in preschool children is mentioned. Also, it’s recommended increased awareness among parents, instructors and healthcare providers to maximize intervention

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hearing balance preschool screening Bruininks-Oseretsky

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Mousavisadr SF, Heidari F, Ebrahimi A-A. The study of hearing and balance screening in preschool children in the east of Tehran city. Aud Vestib Res. 2025;.