Abstract
In order to identify recent trends of causes of deafness in children, the author studied case histories of 744 children with sensory neural hearing loss under 10 years of age who consulted the Fukuoka Welfare Center of Disabled Children from 1979 to 1987. The results were compared with those in 477 children who consulted Visual and Auditory Research Institute of Fukuoka Medical Association during one year and six months from 1970 to 1972. The results were as follows. 1) The frequency of familial deafness increased. 2) Among the prenatal disturbances, the frequency of maternal rubella infection was as high as before. 3) The deafness resulting from maternal cytomegalovirus infection was noted as a prenatal disturbance in this study. 4) Among the paranatal disturbances, the frequency of asphyxia was lower than before. 5) Among the causes of postnatal deafness, the frequencies of mumps and meningitis were high.
