Alharbi Nada, Baqalaqil Daniyah, Alharthi Hams, Almalki Nouf, Altoukhi Samar, Alzahrani Nawaf, Sanedi Abdullah, Almohaimeed Farees, AlOtaibi Abdulrahman, Amoodi Hosam
College of Medicine, University of Jeddah, Jeddah, SAU.
College of Medicine, Albaha University, Albaha, SAU.
Cureus. 2025 Jan 26;17(1):e78025. doi: 10.7759/cureus.78025. eCollection 2025 Jan.
Hearing impairment during childhood is a widespread health issue. Prompt recognition and timely intervention are vital for the advancement of language skills. Insufficient parental knowledge can lead to a delay in diagnosing and treating a condition, which can have a negative impact on academic performance. The goals of our study were to assess the knowledge levels of parents regarding childhood hearing loss and to evaluate their attitudes toward the availability of hearing services.
A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online questionnaire. Participants, totaling 339, were recruited from various regions across Saudi Arabia through a stratified random sampling technique to ensure diverse representation. Recruitment was conducted via social media platforms, including Twitter, and WhatsApp. The data were examined using Microsoft Excel (Microsoft® Corp., Redmond, WA) and Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS, version 26.0; IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Armonk, NY).
This study consisted of 339 participants, of whom 295 (87.0%) were female. The 41-50 age group was the most represented at 35.7% (121/339). A total of 76.1% of the participants demonstrated inadequate knowledge regarding childhood hearing loss and its connection to developmental delay. Although the participants had limited knowledge, a significant majority of 82.9% expressed a favorable disposition toward hearing services.
This study emphasizes the existence of significant gaps in knowledge and diverse attitudes toward childhood hearing loss among caregivers. This underscores the urgent need for public health initiatives to tackle these gaps through educational and awareness campaigns. By promoting a well-informed and optimistic approach to hearing health, we can improve the results of early detection and intervention, thereby reducing the long-term effects on speech, language, and cognitive development.
儿童听力障碍是一个普遍存在的健康问题。及时识别和适时干预对于语言技能的发展至关重要。家长知识不足可能导致病情诊断和治疗延误，进而对学业成绩产生负面影响。我们研究的目的是评估家长对儿童听力损失的知识水平，并评价他们对听力服务可及性的态度。
采用在线问卷进行横断面研究。通过分层随机抽样技术从沙特阿拉伯各地招募了339名参与者，以确保具有广泛的代表性。通过包括推特和WhatsApp在内的社交媒体平台进行招募。使用Microsoft Excel（微软公司，华盛顿州雷德蒙德）和统计产品与服务解决方案（SPSS，版本26.0；IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows，纽约州阿蒙克）对数据进行分析。
本研究共有339名参与者，其中295名（87.0%）为女性。41 - 50岁年龄组人数最多，占35.7%（121/339）。共有76.1%的参与者对儿童听力损失及其与发育迟缓的关系了解不足。尽管参与者知识有限，但仍有82.9%的绝大多数人对听力服务持积极态度。
本研究强调了照顾者在儿童听力损失知识方面存在重大差距以及态度各异。这凸显了通过教育和宣传活动来填补这些差距的公共卫生举措的迫切需求。通过推广对听力健康明智且乐观的态度，我们可以改善早期检测和干预的效果，从而减少对言语、语言和认知发展的长期影响。
