Prevalence and age of identification of permanent childhood hearing impairment in Cyprus.

Permanent childhood hearing impairment is a significant public health issue in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. It has effects on the hearing-impaired individual's linguistic, psychological, educational, and vocational development. Data on prevalence are an essential prerequisite for efficient service planning and development. This paper reports the first study to be undertaken in Cyprus to investigate the prevalence and the age at identification of permanent bilateral (congenital or acquired/late-onset) childhood hearing impairment of 50 dB HL or greater. The study was based upon a case ascertainment approach for children born between 1979 and 1996. Two methods were employed for the data collection: interrogation of case records and questionnaires administered to parents. The results for those years in which most cases are likely to have been identified showed an estimated prevalence of 1.19/1,000 live births (congenital) and 0.40/1,000 live births (acquired/late onset), with a mean identification age of 44.0 months for congenital cases. These findings are discussed with reference to the service development needs in Cyprus.