title: Prevalence of speaking and hearing disabilities among adults with traumatic brain injury from a national household survey.
abstract: The purpose of this study is to provide prevalence estimates of the sociodemographic characteristics and extent of speaking and hearing disabilities among a community-based sample of adults (15 years and older) who have survived traumatic brain injury (TBI). This report is based on the Canadian Health and Activity Limitation Survey (1986-87), a national household survey of self-reported disabilities. Results indicate that adults with TBI with speaking or hearing difficulties tend to be male, middle-aged and older, urban dwellers, of relatively low income levels who are limited at work. Over 75% of adults with speaking difficulties report difficulty being understood by people outside their immediate family context. Hearing difficulties rise dramatically from 75% occurring with one communication partner to over 96% occurring with three partners. The mean duration of disabilities is 12.7 years for speaking and 13.5 years for hearing. More than 80% of adults with communicative difficulties have co-occurring disabilities of mobility and agility. Results have specific implications for functional assessment of adults with TBI and service delivery decision-making.
authors.affiliation: State University of New York at Buffalo, USA.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lubinski
authors.forename: B S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Moscato
authors.forename: B S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Willer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001925:Brain Damage, Chronic / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003638:Deafness / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007806:Language Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013064:Speech Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*