Effects of hearing impairment on use of health services among the elderly.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the effects of hearing impairment on health-service use in an elderly population, controlling for factors associated with hearing difficulties known to affect utilization.


METHODS
Diagnoses of hearing impairment, depression, and chronic illnesses were used in hierarchical regression procedures to predict the volume and probability of any service use among 1,436 randomly selected 65-year-old health maintenance organization members.


RESULTS
Hearing impairment substantially increased the likelihood of making at least one visit to a health care provider (OR = 3.31, 95%; CI = 1.55-7.06). Among those who made such visits, however, hearing impairment did not lead to use of additional services despite expectations to the contrary.


CONCLUSIONS
Further research should explore whether underutilization of services exists, and, if so, whether it stems from clinician or patient attitudes about the seriousness of hearing impairment, from a paucity of available treatment strategies, or from some combination of these and other factors.
Green
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Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, USA. carla.a.green@kp.org
Pope
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D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006311:Hearing Disorders; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008329:Managed Care Programs; D014481:United States