HEARING LOSS IN BLAST TRAUMA VICTIMS. A MULTICENTRE RETROSPECTIVE STUDY

Objective: To describe the resultant Otologic morbidity and report on the early outcomes following blasts occurring in twin cities of Quetta and Peshawar. Study Design: Case series. Place and Duration of Study: ENT department Tertiary Care Centre Quetta and Tertiary Care Hospital Peshawar. Study period was, from Jan 2013 to Dec 2013. Methodology: All bomb blast patients brought to the hospitals were included in study. Participants completed Symptom Assessment Forms followed by detailed ENT examination and Pure Tone Audiograms on arrival and after 6 weeks. Results: A total of 504 patients were included initially of which 80% of the patients were male. About 57.8% of the patients complained of ear injury, 21.6% of the total patients had tympanic membrane perforation on initial presentation. Chances of spontaneous closure of perforation were 20.9% in our study. Chances of hearing improvement were 17.9% in our study at the end of the study period. Conclusion: Blast related otologic injuries constituted a major source of morbidity The most common type of hearing loss following a blast trauma was mild to moderate conductive type. Chances of recovery of hearing following blast do exist (17.9%). Suspected patients should be regularly assessed and followed up. Much work needs to be done to study the impact of blast trauma on hearing in our country.