Objective: To assess the prevalence of hearing impairment in siblings of children with profound to total hearing impairment.
Method: Two hundred and twenty siblings of children at a deaf school in Karachi completed the screening program. This consisted of a questionnaire and pure tone audiometry.
Results: One out of three (73 siblings) had a threshold of 25 dB or greater in their better ear. In a population, already aware of hearing loss, we note that only fifteen siblings had a previous audiogram. Although a positive family history is associated with hearing impairment in the siblings, no increase due to consanguineous marriages was noted.
Conclusion: This assessment has underlined the need to increase public awareness of hearing impairment. It has also exposed the lack of it in families exposed to the condition.