PREVALENCE OF SEVERE TO PROFOUND SENSORINEURAL HEARING-LOSS IN CHILDREN HAVING FAMILY MEMBERS WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENT

The purpose of this paper is to study the prevalence rate of hearing i mpairment among children with siblings and family members having heari ng and speech disorders. A random survey of 6,421 Saudi infants and ch ildren between 2 months and 12 years of age was conducted in the Riyad h area. Children with no or few siblings and those who were firstborn were at relatively higher risk, and there was a strong association bet ween children in the hearing-impaired group among those having living siblings with deafness. Those children who had family members with hea ring and speech problems were at twice the risk of their counterpart g roups regarding hearing impairment.