Hearing in the Mabaans: A Critical Review of Related Literature

Abstract

SINCE the publication, in 1962, of our first report on the hearing of the Mabaan people of the Sudan,¹ the results have been reported in various professional journals and in publications for the layman. Recent references to these data were made by Rosen and Olin in a paper which suggested the possibility of relating hearing loss to coronary heart disease.² In that paper Rosen and Olin state: Our first study in 1960-61 among members of the Mabaan tribe in southeast Sudan revealed their superior hearing. At 500 to 6,000 cps hearing is significantly more acute in all Mabaans aged 10 through 70 years than in people of the same age who live in industrial areas of the United States. The LIFE Science Library encapsulates the popularly-phrased essence of our study as follows: "Dr. Rosen tested the hearing of 500 Mabaan tribesmen and found it to be the sharpest