Gait performance of children and adolescents with sensorineural hearing loss.

BACKGROUND

Several studies have demonstrated that children with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) may exhibit balance disorders, which can compromise the gait performance of this population.

OBJECTIVE

Compare the gait performance of normal hearing (NH) children and those with SNHL, considering the sex and age range of the sample, and analyze gait performance according to degrees of hearing loss and etiological factors in the latter group.

METHOD

This is a cross-sectional study that assessed 96 students, 48 NH and 48 with SNHL, aged between 7 and 18 years. The Brazilian version of the Dynamic Gait Index (DGI) was used to analyze gait and the Mann-Whitney test for statistical analysis.

RESULTS

The group with SNHL obtained lower average gait performance compared to NH subjects (p=0.000). This was also observed when the children were grouped by sex female and male (p=0.000). The same difference occurred when the children were stratified by age group: 7-18 years (p=0.000). The group with severe and profound hearing loss exhibited worse gait performance than those with mild and moderate loss (p=0.048) and children with prematurity as an etiological factor demonstrated the worst gait performance.

CONCLUSION

The children with SNHL showed worse gait performance compared to NH of the same sex and age group. Those with severe and profound hearing loss and prematurity as an etiological factor demonstrated the worst gait performances.