One in 10 children who survive meningitis are deafened as a result of the illness. Great strides have been made in vaccination for some types of meningitis including the vaccination for Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b) which was the biggest cause of meningitis in children under the age of 5 years and a major cause of deafness. The Hib vaccine was introduced in 1992 into the childhood vaccination schedule. However, even after this, hearing problems remain one of the most common after effects of bacterial meningitis.  Other forms of meningitis which are not vaccine preventable, and which pose a significant risk of hearing loss, are group B streptococcal and E coli meningitis, which together account for most cases of meningitis in newborn babies (neonatal meningitis). This means that health professionals working in paediatrics must remain vigilant and refer all babies and children who have had meningitis to audiology for hearing tests, and audiologists must continue to educate their local teams about the risks.

In November 2009 I spoke at the ‘After Meningitis Conference’ in London hosted by the Meningitis Trust on the ‘Impact and Challenges of Hearing Loss Following Meningitis’. I have uploaded the slides below for those that are interested in the facts and figures, and listed the references below.

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Resources, references & further information

• Balance and balance disorders factsheet, NDCS, 2008
• Meningitis and childhood deafness, NDCS/The Meningitis Trust, 2012
• Meningitis & Hearing Loss (Deafness Research UK, 2005)
• NDCS Family Weekend for teenagers with acquired and late-onset deafness
• NHS Choices Meningitis, 2010
• Guidelines for surveillance and audiological referral of infants & children following the newborn hearing screen (NHSP Clinical Group, 2012)
• Fortnum HM., Davis AC., Hearing impairment in children after bacterial meningitis: incidence and resource implications. Br J Audiol. 1993 Feb;27(1):43-52.
• Fortnum HM, Summerfield AQ, Marshall DH, Davis AC, Bamford JM (2001). Prevalence of permanent childhood hearing impairment in the United Kingdom and implications for universal neonatal hearing screening: questionnaire based ascertainment study. Brit Med J 323(7312), 536-40
• Richardson, MP., Reid, A.,  Tarlow, MJ., Rudda, PT., Hearing loss during bacterial meningitis. Archives of Disease in Childhood 1997;76:134-138