Prevalence of extended high-frequency hearing loss among adolescents from two rural areas in Colombia.

OBJECTIVE Worldwide research trends on the prevalence of hearing loss within young rural populations are scarce. Current evidence suggests extended high-frequency audiometry could be a sensitive predictor to detect subclinical hearing loss. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of hearing loss through conventional pure tone (0.25-8 kHz) and extended high-frequency (9-20 kHz) audiometry tests in a group of adolescents aged 13 to 19 years old from two rural areas of Colombia. A sociodemographic and associated factor for hearing loss questionnaire was applied. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. STUDY SAMPLE Three hundred sixty-six adolescents aged 13 to 19 years old from two rural municipalities in Colombia: Soraca, and Palmas del Socorro. RESULTS Hearing loss prevalence assessed through pure tone audiometry was 3.28% in right ears and 3.83% in left ears while through extended high-frequency audiometry was 14.21% and 13.11%, respectively. Associated factors found by the logistic regression were age (OR: 1.36; CI 95% 1.13-1.64) and obesity (OR: 3.74; CI 95% 1.07-13.11). CONCLUSIONS Using 15 dB as the normal hearing threshold parameter for audiometric frequencies, our results suggest that extended high-frequency hearing loss is already widespread among rural adolescents. This highlights the need for research on extended high-frequency audiometry in rural school-aged children.