Korean Lepr Bull.  2005 Dec;38(2):95-101.

The Study of Status about Hearing Loss in Person Affected Leprosy

• Kim JP
• Kim YS
• Ko YH

Abstract

Leprosy related service of our country is including new patient finding and treatment, preventing the relapse and rehabilitation service. Latest new patient's occurrence is decreasing much than past, and the persons affected leprosy are gradually older. So the necessity of rehabilitation service about them is increased. Influences of hearing ability in human's life is the communication, the recognition of sound, the studying of speech faculty, and the perception ability about several circumstance. NCHS of U.S.A. was reported the hearing loss is one of high incidence disease along with the hypertension and the arthritis in the old persons, and especially the inclination of hearing loss becomes serious as do graying. It was carefully presumed that 20% of old persons more than 65 years old has some difficulties of hearing ability in Korea. The 52 persons affected leprosy(PALs) were examined the pure tone audiometry for the evaluating of the hearing loss. Among them, we have found the 12 persons(23.1%) with the hearing loss, by the results of pure tone audiometry(more than 40 dB).

Keyword

Leprosy; Hearing loss

MeSH Terms

Aged
Arthritis
Audiometry
Hearing Loss*
Hearing*
Humans
Hypertension
Incidence
Korea
Leprosy*
Perception
Recurrence
Rehabilitation