Evaluation of hearing screening of Polish athletes with intellectual disability participating in Special Olympics Healthy Hearing Program

Introduction: The Healthy Hearing Program is part of the international Healthy Athletes program. The main assumption of the program is the systematic assessment of the condition of hearing in athletes with various levels of intellectual disability. Aim: The aim of the study is to present the results of hearing screening tests of Polish competitors participating in Special Olympics in comparison to the results obtained from the same tests of foreign sportsmen. Material and methods: This is a retrospective, multicenter study describing 8 years of hearing screening in athletes with intellectual disabilities. The study includes a group of 9,405 players aged between 7 and 69, with intellectual disabilities of various degrees, participating in national and international sports competitions in 2009–2016. The group size of Polish competitors is 863, and the group of competitors from other countries (OWHOC) is 8,542. The assessment is based on the study of otoacoustic emission, tympanometry, and tonal audiometry. Results: Otoacoustic emission tests of Polish competitors revealed normal results for 17.3% in the right ear and 14.4% in the left ear. The results were similar for the group of foreign players: right ear – 15.1% and left ear – 11.7%. A correct tympanometry result was obtained for the right ear in 61.5%, and the left ear in 57.5% of Polish competitors. Foreign competitors obtained 69.5% of correct tympanometry results on both sides. The audiometric norm (0–20 dB) was obtained in the right ear in 16.7%, and in the left ear in 15.2% of Polish athletes. Foreigners obtained the correct result of audiometric examination on the right in 13.5%, and on the left in 11.5% of cases. Conclusions: The research indicates more frequent hearing disorders in people with intellectual disabilities compared to the population of people without disabilities. Conductive hearing loss is more frequent in comparison to non-disabled population. Screening of athletes participating in Special Olympics represents an important element in improving their health potential. The Healthy Hearing Program allows to train medical staff to effectively communicate with people with disabilities, as well as to run practical audiological examinations. It also allows to examine Special Olympics players, analyze their test results, and identify athletes with disabilities who require further assistance and help. The results of Polish athletes compared to foreign ones are similar.