Reduction of earwax with hypoacusia in Saharawi children

Article Outline

• Summary
• Introduction
• Patients presentation
• Discussion
• Acknowledgements
• References
• Copyright

Summary 

We report case reports of earwax with hypoacusia (1.8%) in 270 Saharawi children, aged from 6 to 13 years, for a two-month period during the summer according to the “Holidays in Peace” program developed in collaboration with a local non-governmental organization (NGO). Our values are lower than those of other authors due to an initiative of systematic checks carried out by trained general doctors and nursing on children's hearing in Saharawi refugee camps in the last years.

Keywords: Earwax, Hypoacusia, Saharawi children

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Introduction 

Some six million people around the globe are trapped mainly in poor countries as long-term refugees [1], around 165,000 Saharawi refugees currently living in four remote camps (Dakhla, Smara, Al-‘Uyun and Awsard) located in the harsh desert 30km from the most western Algerian town of Tindouf since 1976 [2]. Isolation and the hostile environment of the area make the life difficult in this area. Furthermore, a large number of Saharawi children have health problems including malnutrition, goiter, coeliac disease, intestinal parasitic infections among others [3], [4], [5]. Some of these Saharawi children between the ages of eight and thirteen are hosted by Spanish families in their homes for a two-month period during the summer according to the “Holidays in Peace” program organized by a national Spanish Non-Governmental Organization. This annual holiday program allows between 7000 and 10,000 Saharawi children to receive medical examinations and treatment, as well as gifts of clothes, toys, and money which they take back with them to the camps and many of them return year after year to the same host homes [6]. Furthermore, we have published a guide for “Holidays in Peace” program to improve the health of Saharawi children during their staying time in our country [7]. However, before developing this guide, we have studied the health problems of these children.

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Patients presentation 

Research was conducted in collaboration with a local non-governmental organization (NGO) for a two-month period during the summer according to the “Holidays in Peace” program. The sample consisted of 270 Saharawi children, which were aged from 6 to 13 years of which 1.8% of Saharawi children had earwax with hypoacusia.

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Discussion 

The presence of excess or impacted earwax was investigated as it can press against the eardrum and/or occlude the external auditory canal, leading to low-frequency hearing loss or impaired hearing with hypoacusia as is observed in the study of Paricio et al. [5] where 8.6% of the Saharawi children hosted in Spain have some of these problems. This situation is caused by sand, frequent bouts of untreated otitis and/or wind, the last being very important cause in the refugee camps in Tindouf as it is a strong (115km/h), and dry (12%) sand wind called Sirocco [8]. Sarquella et al. [9] reflected earwax with hypoacusia in 13% of Saharawi children, aged from 6 to 14 years, hosted in Spain. Value (2.9%) higher than our study is reflected in the study Casas et al. [10] with Saharawi children, aged from 6 to 13 years, hosted in Spain.

In conclusion, this reduction can be explained as being due to an initiative of systematic checks carried out by trained general doctors and nursing on children's hearing in Saharawi refugee camps in the last years.

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Acknowledgements 

We are especially grateful to have received support from the Conselleria de Inmigración y Ciudadanía of the Generalitat Valenciana (3014/2007).

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References 

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2. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)/Comitato Internazionale per lo Sviluppo dei Popoli (CISP)/National Research Institute for Food and Nutrition (NRIFN), Nutritional status of the highly vulnerable groups in Saharawi refugee camps, Geneve, UNHCR, 2001.
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