Hearing loss in minor head injury.

A prospective study on hearing loss in children with minor head injury was done because previous studies have indicated that a relatively high incidence of sensorineural hearing loss follows head injury. Forty patients aged 6-16 years, who had sustained loss of consciousness from head injury were interviewed and examined and compared with a control group. Most of the patients sustained frontal injuries, whereas hearing loss was most frequently noted in those who sustained parieto-occipital injuries. No correlation between the type of injury and the nature of the hearing loss was noted. Audiometrically, sensorineural hearing loss was noted. Audiometrically, sensorineural hearing loss was noted in 25 percent and in no case was it greater than 30 dB. The incidence of hearing loss after six months was 0 percent, indicating that after excluding other causes of deafness there is no great incidence of significant permanent hearing loss.