The prevalence of otitis media with effusion and associated hearing impairment among adults HIV/AIDS patients attending the ISS clinic at Mulago hospital

Abstract

INTRODUCTION:The HIV/AIDS is the worst epidemic seen in the twentieth century where over 40 million people worldwide are living with the disease. It attacks the immune system leading to easy susceptibility to opportunistic infections. With nearly 100 percent of patients with HIV/AIDS presenting with head and neck manifestation otitis media with effusion being one of them. While studies in Uganda on hearing impairment in HIV/AIDS patients documents OME as a cause of conductive hearing impairment in HIV/AIDS patients, no study to document the prevalence of OME in HIV/AIDS patients had been done. A cross sectional study on OME and associated hearing impairment was carried out in the ISS clinic at mulago hospital. The aim was to determine the prevalence OME and associated hearing impairment in these patients. During the period between July and September 2006, 417 adults with HIV/AIDS were assessed for OME and associated hearing impairment. Trypanometry was done on all patients while pure tone audiometry was done only on patients with trypanometry results suggestive of OME. The prevalence of OME in these patients was found to be 8.8% and of all these patients 75.6% had an associated hearing impairment, which was mild in nature. Thus prompting for a call at improving sensitization of health workers on the magnitude of ontological conditions in HIV/AIDS in order to improve on their quality of life.