Hearing Loss and Otitis Media on Guam

Abstract

THIS study documents a high frequency of hearing loss among Guamanians and presents information about its possible cause. There are three phases to the study: (1) frequency of hearing loss and ear pathology among Guamanian schoolchildren; (2) frequency of hearing loss and ear pathology among young Guamanian men; and (3) frequency of aching and draining ears in Guamanian preschool children. Guam is the westernmost possession of the United States in the Pacific, situated 6,400 miles west of California and 4,000 miles from Hawaii. It is 900 miles north of the equator and has a humid, tropical climate. The island is 30 miles long, 4 to 8½ miles wide, and has a total area of 209 square miles. Historically, Guam first came under Spanish influence following its discovery by Magellan in 1521. At that time the native or Chamorro population may have numbered as many as 50,000.¹Origins of the