Otological disorders in Down's Syndrome.

OBJECTIVE To assess if children with Down's Syndrome have a higher prevalence of otological abnormality compared to their normal counterparts in Malaysia. METHODOLOGY Thirty children with Down's Syndrome and normal children underwent otoscopic ear examination and Impedance test in the ENT outpatients clinic in University Hospital, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. RESULTS The study showed that children with Down's Syndrome had higher otological disorders. Forty four percent had impacted wax compared to 14.4% in normal children. Twenty one percent of ears in the study group had retracted drums compared to 6.6% of control. Fifteen percent of ears in the study group had middle ear effusion compared to 3.4% in controls, 55% had a type B tympanogram compared to 8.3% in controls and 73.4% had auditory canal stenosis compared to 14.4% in controls. CONCLUSION Children with Down's Syndrome, thus have a higher incidence of otological disorders.