The Philippine National Ear Institute: Patient and Audiologic Profiles

• Main Authors: Regie Lyn P. Santos-Cortez, Charlotte M. Chiong, Ma. Luz San Agustin, Charina Melinda C. Elgar, Genilou Liv M. Gimena, Scheherazade C. Ibrahim, Rodante A. Roldan, Ma. Rina T. Reyes-Quintos, Abner L. Chan, Generoso T. Abes
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philippine Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Inc. 2007-11-01
• Series: Philippine Journal of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery
• Subjects: Philippine National Ear Institute; Philippines; patient profile; audiology; audiometry; tympanometry
• Online Access: https://pjohns.pso-hns.org/index.php/pjohns/article/view/789
• ISSN: 1908-4889; 2094-1501

Background:  The Philippine National Ear Institute (PNEI) was created to promote health of hearing and balance among Filipinos.  Over the years it,  has provided audiologic services to thousands of patients annually and has published relevant hearing and balance research. Objective:  To describe the patients served by the PNEI in terms of age, region of origin, occupation, pretest diagnosis, and audiologic results. Methods:  Study Design: Cross-sectional study Setting: National tertiary care center Population: All records of patients referred for audiologic testing at PNEI in 2006 were reviewed and encoded into analyzable format. Results: A total of 1,756 patients had audiologic records for review. Median age was 32.5 years, with the age distribution presented according to sex, type of tests done including common reasons for referral, and median threshold levels by frequency. Coverage was national in scope, with most patients coming from the National Capital Region and from Regions III and IVa. Occupation was indicated in 37.8% of the working age group, most of whom were unemployed. The most common pretest diagnosis was chronic otitis media (26.6%), followed by hearing loss of unknown etiology (13.0%) and tinnitus (9.3%). Severity of hearing impairment based on pure tone audiometry was variable, and was presented according to common diagnoses. About 39% of hearing impairment cases were sensorineural, 36% conductive and 25% due to mixed defect. Bilateral Type A ears were found in 45.4% of patients by tympanometry, while 29.3% were bilateral Type B. For otoacoustic emissions, 69.0% were labeled as “refer” in at least one ear. Conclusion:  The PNEI is a major national referral center for audiology that holds much promise in developing programs for national surveillance of the hearing status of different sectors in Philippine society.   Keywords: Philippine National Ear Institute, Philippines, patient profile, audiology, audiometry, tympanometry, otoacoustic emissions, chronic otitis media