Aims: To find the association of SNHL with socioeconomic status in children aged 2-12 years coming from central area of Uttar Pradesh.
Settings and Design: This study has been carried out in the Department of Physiology, KGMU, Lucknow, UP, India. This is a cross sectional study.
Methods and Material: A total 70 subjects were enrolled in this study. Out of total, 35 subjects (50%) had moderate to severe hearing loss while remaining (n=35;50%) had severe to profound hearing loss. Informed consent was filled by the parents of each subject and working proforma included age, sex and socioeconomic status (according to Kuppuswamy classification, 2018) was also filled. SPSS Version 21.0 statistical analysis software was used.
Results: The patients age ranged from 02-10 years with a mean age of 4.67±2.15 years. Male: female ratio was 36(65.7%):24(34.3%). Proportion of severe to profound impairment group (77.1%) was higher in lower upper and lower socioeconomic strata. Proportion of moderate to severe impairment group (57.1%) was higher in lower middle class yet this difference was not significant statistically (p=0.149).
Conclusions: Lower socioeconomic status, in the form of occupation and education, is associated with higher risk of SNHL. A study with a larger sample is required to make any definite inference between SNHL and socioeconomic status of patient.
