Prevalence and patterns of hearing impairment in Egypt: a national household survey.

We conducted a national household survey to estimate the prevalence and causes of hearing impairment in Egypt. From 6 randomly selected governorates (Alexandria, Dakahlia, Luxor, Marsa Matrouh, Minia and North Sinai), 4000 individuals were screened for hearing loss. The prevalence of hearing loss was 16.0% with no significant sex differences. There were significant differences between the age groups and governorates: Marsa Matrouh had the highest prevalence of hearing loss (25.7%) and North Sinai the lowest (13.5%); those > or = 65 years had the highest prevalence (49.3%), but it was also high in those aged 0-4 years (22.4%). Otitis media with effusion (30.8%) was the commonest cause of hearing loss, followed by presbycusis (22.7%).