Author(s)

Augusto Peñaranda^1*, Sandra Martínez², María Leonor Aparicio³, Juan Manuel García¹, Clemencia Barón³

¹Departamento de Cirugía, Grupo Implante Coclear, Fundación Santa Fe de Bogotá, Bogotá, Colombia.
²Centro de Estudios e Investigación en Salud, CEIS, Fundación Santa Fe de Bogotá, Bogotá, Colombia.
³Grupo Implante Coclear, Fundación Santa Fe de Bogotá, Bogotá, Colombia.

Introduction: Hearing disability is a condition that affects normal ear function, as much in adulthood as in the first years of life. According to the 2005 Census, 6.3% of the Colombian population has some type of disability, of which 17.4% have hearing limitations, including those with hearing devices. Elucidating the conditions of this population and identifying the factors related to hearing disability will permit the management of strategies from different sectors to mitigate the consequences associated with this limitation. Objective: To estimate the self-perception of hearing disability in Colombia and to determine the factors associated with this limitation. Materials and Methods: The present study is cross-sectional, based on the analysis of secondary information obtained from the Registry for Localization and Characterization of Persons with Disability (RLCPD) during the 2002-2008 period. Socio-demographic and healthcare variables were analyzed. Results: 13.6% (102,648/750,377) of the population reported hearing limitations even with the use of special hearing devices. 43.52% (44,041) of people over 3 years of age could neither read nor write. 29.39% (30,145) of people who reported this limitation are not affiliated to any sort of health insurance system. Factors found to be associated with hearing limitations were: socioeconomic stratus (OR: 1.33; CI 95% 1.25; 1.42), illiteracy (OR: 1.44; CI 95% 1.42; 1.46) and lack of affiliation to a health insurance system (OR: 1.03; CI 95% 1.01; 1.04). Conclusion: People registered with hearing disability live under vulnerable conditions; among them, most/the majority pertained to a segment of the population with low economic resources and had difficulty obtaining/accessing work, education and healthcare services.

Disability, Hearing Loss, Perception, Health Services, Equity in Health

Peñaranda, A. , Martínez, S. , Aparicio, M. , García, J. and Barón, C. (2015) Hearing Disability in Colombia Self-Perception and Associated Factors 2002-2008. International Journal of Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery, 4, 18-25. doi: 10.4236/ijohns.2015.41004.