HUBUNGAN GANGGUAN PENDENGARAN DENGAN KEMAMPUAN BAHASA PADA ANAK SINDROM DOWN

Background: Down syndrome is a genetic chromosomal disorder called trisomy. Patients with Down syndrome have an extra chromosome 21. This is because of non-disjunction or aneuploidy of the chromosomes. Increased chromosomal imbalance impact on genetic, mental retardation and disruption of physical functions, intellectual and even physiology. Some of the largest health problems experienced by children with Down syndrome are hearing impairment and impaired language development. Aim: To analyze the correlation between hearing impairment and language development in Down Syndrome children. Methods: This study uses an observational analytic retrospective. Data taken from the medical records of Down Syndrome patients in the dr Kariadi Hospital Semarang in 2008-2015. The data include characteristic of the subject, hearing function on both ears with BERA examination, and examined language development with DDST. Statistical tests performed by Chi-Square test and Fisher's exact test. Results: This study used 32 samples of children with Down syndrome. A total of 8 (25%) us subjects with normal hearing and 24 (75%) is subjects with hearing impairment. Analysis of the relationship beetwen mild hearing impairment and the development of language (DDST) has a value of p = 1.00. Analysis of the relationship beetwen moderate hearing impairment and the development of language (DDST) has a value of p = 0.538. And the analysis of the relationship beetwen severe – profound hearing impairment and the development of language (DDST) has a value of p = 0.569. Conclusion: There is no correlation between hearing impairment and language development in children with Down syndrome. Keywords: Down syndrome, hearing impairment, language development (DDST)