Undiagnosed hearing deficits hamper a child’s ability to learn. Hearing screening in school aged children helps detect educationally significant hearing loss and prevents negative impacts on academic achievement. The main purpose of this study was to improve early detection and assess the incidence of hearing disorders in first-graders from rural areas and small towns in the Małopolskie Voivodeship of Poland. There were 5029 children aged 6–7 years. Hearing thresholds were measured over the frequency range 0.5–8 kHz. A result was considered positive (abnormal) if the hearing threshold was worse than 20 dB HL at one or more frequencies. The prevalence of hearing loss was estimated in terms of four-frequency hearing loss, high-frequency hearing loss, and low-frequency hearing loss. Parents filled in a brief audiological questionnaire. The analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics, version 24. Of all the children, 20.5% returned a positive result and were referred for further audiological diagnoses. The estimated prevalence of hearing loss was 11.6%, made up of 6.5% with FFHL, 7.6% with HFHL, and 8.2% with LFHL. This study showed that large numbers of children in the district had hearing problems. Adoption of hearing screening in primary schools is recommended as a routine procedure within preventive pediatric health care.

We present a case report of invasive fungal infection in an immunocompromised host, which required a multidisciplinary approach. Mucormycosis is a mold infection caused by a fungi belonging to the order Mucorales. Various forms of the disease have been described, and rhino-orbital-cerebral infection is the most common manifestation. Diabetes, corticosteroid use, malignancy, and a recent history of COVID-19 are well-established immunosuppressive factors that predispose individuals to mucormycosis. Our patient was a forty-five-year-old man with chronic pancreatitis and untreated diabetes mellitus. He presented with sinusitis extending into the right orbit and complicated by central retinal artery occlusion. On admission, the patient complained of three weeks of right-sided headache and eye pain followed by sudden vision loss. He was in good general condition, was alert, oriented, and afebrile. Endoscopic examination revealed the nasal cavity completely filled with pathological tissue displaying fungal morphology. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed a massive orbit infiltration with extraocular muscles and optic nerve invasion. The patient underwent urgent endoscopic debridement. Histopathological examination of the specimens confirmed fungal infiltration. Significant growth of Rhizopus arrhizus was obtained from tissue samples. The surgical procedure was followed by a prolonged antifungal therapy with intensive diabetes management.