Hearing loss and hearing aid use in Hispanic adults: results from the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Data from the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were employed to investigate the prevalence of hearing loss and hearing aid use in Mexican-American, Cuban-American, and Puerto Rican adults. Hearing loss was 6 to 14 times more prevalent in older (ages 54 to 74) vs younger (ages 20 through 34) subjects. Cuban Americans and Mexican Americans tended to have a similar prevalence of hearing loss, whereas Puerto Ricans had markedly lower rates. Mexican-American men had higher rates of hearing loss than Mexican-American women. The prevalence of hearing aid use among hearing-impaired individuals ranged from 2% to 11%. Implications for future research are discussed.
Lee
D J
DJ
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Miami School of Medicine, FL 33101.
Carlson
D L
DL
Lee
H M
HM
Ray
L A
LA
Markides
K S
KS
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003462:Cuba / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006310:Hearing Aids / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017058:Mexican Americans / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D009309:National Center for Health Statistics, U.S.; D015995:Prevalence; D011647:Puerto Rico / Q000208:ethnology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology