Causes of Congenital and Acquired Total Sensorineural Hearing Loss in Ghanaian Children

All cases of “deaf and dumb” children of school age seen in a 5-year period between 1979 and 1984 in Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi are reviewed. The aetiology of 105 cases of congenital and acquired total sensorineural hearing loss is presented. The cause of congenital sensorineural hearing loss is unknown in nearly all cases. Of the 28 congenital cases, 4 mothers had rubella and 2 had icterus in the first trimester of pregnancy. Measles was the commonest cause of acquired sensensorineural hearing loss.