Basic audiology for medical students

Abstract Delay in the identification, diagnosis and intervention of hearing impairment and deafness is mainly linked to the lack of knowledge and commitment of medical doctors (MDs) towards this impairment. In 1997 and in 2006, a multicentre study on the status of prevention of hearing impairment (HI) and deafness in Mexico, directed towards the parents of deaf children, clearly showed this. Similar findings were obtained with a 10-item questionnaire designed to evaluate knowledge and attitudes towards hearing loss (HL) and used with those MDs selected in the annual national examination for the selection of candidates for residencies. From 23,482 applicants, 5464 MDs – the elite of general practitioners (GPs) who had graduated from more than 70 medical schools all over the country – were selected to start their specialization in 2007, and from these a total of 2727 completed questionnaires (49.9%) were obtained. These again showed a very low level of knowledge and misguided attitudes towards hearing, deafness and its consequences. In addition to efforts centred upon the postgraduate four-year residency in ‘Audiology, Otoneurology and Phoniatrics’ (Faculty of Medicine, National University of Mexico), we proposed inclusion of an audiology module in medical students’ clinical training and the undergraduate rotatory internship. In 2008, 20 multiple-choice questions were administered to 151 students at the beginning and end of the module. The comparison of these evaluations showed an initial average of correct responses of 33.4% and a final one of 77.9%, with a clear improvement of 44.5%. It is proposed to disseminate the module from our university, the most important in the country, to all the medical schools in Mexico, in order to improve the identification, diagnosis and intervention skills of future MDs.