Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Associate Professor of Audiology, Ph.D., Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan.
Department of Special Surgery, School of Medicine, Assistant Professor of Audiology, Ph.D., The University of Jordan & Jordan University Hospital, Amman, Jordan.
PLoS One. 2024 Aug 15;19(8):e0304125. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0304125. eCollection 2024.
Hearing loss is known to be a serious issue that impedes human communication. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that approximately 20 in 100,000 newborns demonstrate congenital hearing impairments, leading to severely impacted language, academic, and social abilities of these children.
The reduced quality of life and work productivity among hearing-impaired individuals eventually affects societal outcomes and development. Since limited studies address the nature of hearing-impaired individuals in Jordan, this research aimed to define the prevalence and nature of hearing loss in Jordan, highlighting important facts about hearing loss epidemiology across Jordanians.
The current research focused on assessing hearing function for 1000 individuals over 12 years to define the rate, most prominent configurations, and the most common characteristics of hearing difficulties in Jordan.
The results showed that sixty-three per 1,000 people have hearing loss, most frequently sensorineural hearing loss. The age range of people with hearing loss was 12 to 89 years old, with a median age of 51. The incidence of hearing loss appeared at a later age (33.33%, X2 = 15.74, p<0.05). The percentages of hearing loss were similar across the main Jordanian governorates (X2 = 7.14, p>0.05), with sensorineural hearing loss reported to be the most common type of hearing loss (N = 46, 73.00%), and mild is the most frequent severity (N = 25, X2 = 23.58, p<0.05). No statistical variation was reported in the prevalence of hearing loss based on gender.
The rate of hearing loss in Jordan is higher than worldwide prevalence, which was assumed to be due to genetic factors impacting the auditory system. These findings will assist in creating effective hearing conservation programs to reasonably prevent or minimize the spread of hearing loss in Jordan.
听力损失是一个严重的问题，会妨碍人类交流。世界卫生组织（WHO）估计，每 10 万名新生儿中约有 20 名患有先天性听力障碍，导致这些儿童的语言、学术和社交能力严重受损。
听力受损者的生活质量和工作生产力下降最终会影响社会结果和发展。由于有限的研究涉及约旦听力受损者的性质，因此本研究旨在确定约旦听力损失的流行率和性质，强调约旦听力损失流行病学的重要事实。
目前的研究侧重于评估 1000 名 12 岁以上个体的听力功能，以确定约旦听力困难的发生率、最突出的配置和最常见的特征。
结果表明，每 1000 人中就有 63 人有听力损失，最常见的是感音神经性听力损失。听力损失人群的年龄范围为 12 至 89 岁，中位数为 51 岁。听力损失的发病年龄较晚（33.33%，X2 = 15.74，p<0.05）。主要约旦省份的听力损失百分比相似（X2 = 7.14，p>0.05），报告的感音神经性听力损失是最常见的听力损失类型（N = 46，73.00%），轻度是最常见的严重程度（N = 25，X2 = 23.58，p<0.05）。听力损失的患病率不因性别而有统计学差异。
约旦的听力损失率高于全球流行率，这被认为是由于影响听觉系统的遗传因素所致。这些发现将有助于制定有效的听力保护计划，合理预防或尽量减少约旦听力损失的传播。
