Introduction Hearing complaints are important signs that may indicate occurrence of hearing loss. Children and adolescents with HIV/AIDS presents some hearing complaints which are more frequent and sometimes more severe when compared to other children. The objective of this study was to describe the prevalence of hearing complaints in children and adolescents attended at the Childhood HIV Treatment Institute (ICr).

Methods We evaluated 106 patients who are currently attending at the ICr. All information was obtained from parents' interview and hearing evaluation. The χ² test was performed.

Results Males represented 53.8% of patients. Age ranged from 5 to 19 years (mean: 13 years) and most frequent age group was 11–15 years (51.0%), followed by 16 years and older (31.1%). The most common hearing complaint was hearing loss (27.4%), followed by otalgy (17.9%) and tinnitus (16.0%). The occurrence of suppurative otitis media was related by 12.3% of patients and 18.9% presented tympanic membrane perforation at the time of hearing evaluation. Patients with hearing loss had higher prevalence of hearing complaints than those with normal hearing: otorrhoea (92.9%×7.1%; p<0.001), tinnitus (76.5%×23,5%; p<0.001), otalgy (68.4%×31.6%; p=0.001) and sensation of fullness in the ear (61.5%×38.5%; p=0.039). There was no difference according to dizziness (36.4%×63.6%; p=0.970).

Conclusion It is extremely important to precociously detect, evaluate and observe any hearing complaints that these patients may present. These are important signs that if detected and treated early, can avoid serious consequences like hearing loss.