Age-related hearing loss at Gwagwalada area council of federal capital territory, Abuja.

BACKGROUND

Presbyacusis is a cause of hearing loss in adults worldwide. It is a type of auditory dysfunction thought to be due to a series of insults over time including agerelated degeneration, noise exposure, and diseases of the ear. It usually affects the high frequencies of hearing. Presbyacusis has a tremendous impact on the quality of life of millions of the aged and is fast becoming an increasingly prevalent disorder as the population ages. Nigerian population is becoming progressively older making it imperative to focus on this area of research. It is worth noting that the Nigerian public health system does not have an effective and sustainable hearing loss screening strategy for lateonset hearing loss in adults.

AIM/OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the hearing threshold and pure tone audiometric pattern/s seen in participants with agerelated hearing loss (ARHL) in Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal capital territoryAbuja.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

The study was a prospective communitybased crosssectional study, and a multistage sampling technique was adopted for this study, conducted at Gwagwalada, Abuja. Individuals from 55 years and above were recruited into the study after signing an informed consent. After a thorough and detailed clinical assessment, tympanometry and diagnostic puretone audiometry were carried out in all the participants.

RESULT

One hundred and fourteen participants were recruited into the study, out of which fourteen were excluded from the analysis on account of various exclusion criteria. The age range of the participants was 55 to 79 years, with a mean age of 65.8 ± 5.6 years.Twentyfive (25.0%) participants had normal hearing threshold, while seventyfive (75.0%) participants had sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL).

CONCLUSION

The study showed that the prevalence of ARHL from age 55 years and above at Gwagwalada Area Council, of FCT, Abuja was 75.0%.