Abstract :
Background: Ear diseases are important health problems among children in India and can
result into hearing loss. In 2005, prevalence of deafness was 63 million in India, of which a
large percentage was below 14 years. The growing magnitude of these problems made the
Government of India initiate a National Program for Prevention and Control of Deafness in
2006 but the pace of functioning is still behind the desired level.
Objective: The study was done to find outthe pattern of unsafe ear care practices and health
seeking behavior in ear diseases among school-age children in a resettlement colony of Delhi.
Methodology: A total of 1398 school-aged (5-14 years) children residing in Kalyanpuri
resettlement colony of East Delhi were studied in the year 2011. Study subjects (and their
parents if subjects were minor) were interviewed in detail regarding their present ear
complaints. All the subjects were also examined clinically to diagnose ear problemspresent at
the time of survey. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 12.
Keyword :
School children, Ear diseases, Ear hygiene.