Acquired deafness: epidemiological, diagnosis, therapeutic and evolutionary aspects

The aim of this work was to study the epidemiological profile, diagnostic, therapeutic and evolutionary characteristics of patients who presented with acquired deafness. This was a retrospective study conducted from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021, at the CNHU-HKM University ENT-Head and Neck Surgery Clinic. Patients seen in consultation or hospitalized for hearing loss, alone or associated with another otological symptom, requiring functional testing, were included. Hearing loss was confirmed when pure-tone audiometry demonstrated a hearing loss of at least 20 dB. The incidence was 186.5 cases per year. The mean age was 34 years, ranging from 1 to 75 years. years with a sex ratio of 1.05. The most represented profession was that of pupils and students in 30.30% of cases. Its diagnosis was straightforward in the presence of hearing loss, whether reported by the patient or not. associated with a hearing loss of at least 20 dB. The etiologies were: infectious (33.78 %; 126/373), mechanical due to earwax buildup (30.56%; 114/373), degenerative (18.23%; 68/373), traumatic (5.36%; 20/373), and tumoral (1.72%; 4/373). The treatment was mainly antibiotic-based. The outcome was favorable with a cure rate of 82.88% (309/373). Acquired deafness often stems from curable and therefore avoidable causes, especially among the school-aged population.