Özet:

Objectives: The causes of sensorineural hearing loss were assessed in a population of students in a school for the deaf. Patients and Methods: Ninety-one students (34 girls, 57 boys; mean age 10.6 years; range 7 to 20 years) from a school for the deaf were evaluated together with their their family tree. Otolaryngologic, ophthalmologic, and systemic physical examinations and audiologic and radiologic investigations were performed. Results: Sensorineural hearing loss was of genetic origin in 32.9% of the students. No etiologic factor could be determined in 31.9% of the cases. Infectious diseases (38.3%) and consanguinity (26.3%) were found as the most common etiologic factors in nongenetic and genetic sensorineural hearing losses, respectively. Conclusion: Sensorineural hearing losses due to infectious diseases and consanguineous marriages are preventable conditions. The incidence of sensorineural hearing losses will decline if these two conditions are controlled.

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