Table of Contents

ABSTRACT

The prevalence of early-onset hearing loss among children in India is 5–5.6 per 1000. Delays in diagnosis and hearing aid fitting would lead to speech and language problems in children. The delay in diagnosis could be linked to parental denial, lack of awareness, and willingness to accept the hearing problem. The present study aims to investigate the knowledge and attitudes of new mothers in Delhi, India, about infant hearing loss. Methods: A questionnaire on the awareness and attitude related to hearing loss was administered to sixty new mothers aged 20 to 40 years enrolled in the newborn hearing screening program. Results: Results revealed that mothers were aware of some of the causes of hearing loss: ear discharge and noise exposure. However, mothers were unaware of other important causes like measles, jaundice, delayed birth cry, and convulsions. Results related to the identification and intervention of hearing loss showed that mothers were aware that treatment for hearing loss was available; however, only 51.6% of the mothers knew that hearing loss could be identified soon after birth. It was also noted that 93.3% of new mothers were ready to get their babies tested for hearing loss soon after birth. Conclusion: The study’s results would help develop public awareness campaigns to improve mothers’ understanding and attitudes about newborn hearing loss to adopt newborn hearing screening properly.

Keywords: Infant hearing loss, maternal perspective, awareness, India