Audiometric analysis of different causes of hearing loss in patients attending a tertiary level hospital in India

Background: We sought to understand the audiometric profile of various causes of hearing loss in our patients. Patients were classified as conductive and sensorineural hearing loss along with their specific etiopathological causes. Materials and methods: After approval of the ethics committee, we enrolled patients from our outpatient clinic that presented with complaints of hearing loss. All patients underwent general and systemic examination to ascertain the etiopathological cause of their hearing loss, followed by audiometric analysis. The data was analysed using appropriate statistical methods. Results: 100 patients were included in our study, of which 16 had mild, 36 moderate, 28 severe and 15 had profound hearing loss. Chronic suppurative otitis media was the commonest cause of conductive hearing loss, with majority having moderate level hearing loss. Congenital causes were the commonest in sensorineural hearing loss, of which 12 had profound hearing loss. Conclusion: Audiometric analysis helps in determining the prognostic evaluation of the patients. This study calls for similar research in different geographical locations.