Facilitating early detection and prompt management of hearing loss in school children in low- and middle-income nations

Abstract Hearing loss has been acknowledged as one of the major public health concerns, with more than 465 million people suffering from the condition worldwide, of which 34 million are children and adolescents. In low- and middle-income nations, a significant proportion of hearing loss cases among children remains undetected due to multiple reasons. Hearing is crucial for speech acquisition and language development, and children with hearing loss tend to suffer from delayed reading and communication skills. A wide range of factors have been identified that prevent the timely detection of hearing loss among schoolchildren in these nations. Acknowledging the fact that almost three-fifths to four-fifths of childhood hearing loss is preventable and the wide range of adverse consequences due to the delay in detection, there is an urgent need to adopt a comprehensive package of prevention and control measures to improve the existing scenario. In conclusion, hearing loss in school children is a highly prevalent and clinically impactful public health concern in low- and middle-income nations. However, we must acknowledge that this burden remains largely preventable and underdiagnosed, envisaging the need for implementing measures to ensure early detection, prompt initiation of treatment, and rehabilitation, especially in low-resource settings.