Influence of Hearing Deficiency and Socioprofessional Environment of Parents on the Schooling of Pupils in Black Africa: Case of Togo

Objective: Determine the impact of hearing deficiency on the schooling of pupils, as well as the influence of the socioprofessional level of their parents.

Methodology: It is a descriptive transversal study carried out in two state primary schools in Lomé (Togo). It concerned all the children in the last two years of primary education: Primary 5 and Primary 6.

Results: Out of the 181 pupils of our study, 54.70% were girls. The average age was 12.33 years. The most found otology history was otitis (45.46%) and ear-aches (33.33%).The history of the non otology history found was malaria (25.71%) and visual disorders (20.00%). The cerumen plug represented 97.50% of the otoscopic anomalies. The tertiary sector was the predominant sector of activity of the parents. The number of children per family was on average 4.43 children. We found moderate deafness with 21.55% of the subjects. In 72.28% of the cases, the pupils had failed at least once, and Primary 3 is the class repeated the most.

Conclusion: The hearing disorders are common in schools. Their repercussions on the school results have been demonstrated. Their screening depends on the physical examination and an audiometry practiced in pre and primary schools.