Otoacoustic emission testing in Ghanaian children with sickle-cell disease

Josua Kegele; Helene Hurth; Peter Lackner; Anthony Enimil; Justice Sylverkin; Daniel Ansong; Clara Nkyi; Benedicta Bonsu; Tsiri Agbenyega; Volker H Schartinger; Erich Schmutzhard; Patrick Zorowka; Peter Kremsner; Joachim Schmutzhard

doi:10.1111/tmi.12533

Otoacoustic emission testing in Ghanaian children with sickle-cell disease

Trop Med Int Health. 2015 Sep;20(9):1209-1212. doi: 10.1111/tmi.12533. Epub 2015 May 21.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurology, NICU, Medical University Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
² Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital & Kwama Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
³ Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Medical University Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
⁴ Department of Hearing, Speech and Voice Disorders, Medical University Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
⁵ Institut für Tropenmedizin, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.

PMID: 25941122
DOI: 10.1111/tmi.12533

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate hearing loss in children as a complication of sickle-cell disease.

Methods: In Kumasi, Ghana, 35 children with SCD aged 6 months to 10 years underwent transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions testing (TEOAE) to investigate the function of the inner ear. Healthy Ghanaian children recruited in school and kindergarten served as controls.

Results: One of 35 children with SCD and 13 of 115 control children failed the otoacoustic emissions testing. This difference between the control group and the children with SCD was not statistically significant.

Conclusion: Early hearing impairment does not regularly occur in sickle-cell disease, and in children, it is not a likely cause of delayed or impaired language development.

Keywords: Otoacoustic emissions; anemia falciforme; children; drépanocytose; emisiones otoacústicas; enfants; niños; otoémissions acoustique; sickle-cell disease.