PURPOSE: to become aware of the risks factors for hearing impairment and describe the time gap between the suspicions of the hearing loss, the diagnostic and the beginning of the rehabilitation for a group of hearing impaired children and teenagers from an institution in São Paulo, Brazil - DERDIC PUC-SP, that took part in a rehabilitation program from 1999 to 2002. METHODS: a retrospective study of 162 files of hearing impaired children between 12mo and 17:6 yrs old, the questionnaire elaborated by The Aural Rehabilitation Forum which occurs annually during the International Audiology Meeting in Brazil was used. RESULTS: the results showed 54% male and 46% female subjects; 60% between 3 and 8:11 years old; 43% had the suspicions of the hearing loss in the first year of life; for 25% of the subjects the diagnostic was carried out just after the suspicions; 34% finished the diagnostic one year after the suspicions; 11% began rehabilitation just after the diagnostic, 54% after a year and 27% more than a year. 32% had unknown etiology, 18% genetic causes, 17% presumed multiple factors, 15% meningitis, 9% congenital rubella. CONCLUSION: the prevalence of unknown etiology shows the need for deepening the diagnosis, and as a routine, carry out genetics, images and laboratories studies, in order to know the etiologies of the hearing loss. Even though after implementing immunization campaigns, rubella was the most prevalent cause of the congenital hearing loss and meningitis was the most prevalent cause of acquired hearing loss. A precious time for the child development was lost because of the time gap between suspicions, diagnostic and rehabilitation.
Diagnosis; Deafness; Risk Factors; Hearing Loss
