Prevalence of hearing impairment in an adult population in Southern Taiwan.
The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of hearing impairment in a representative adult population in southern Taiwan and compare the results to those of similar studies in other countries. A stratified systematic cluster sample of 1140 residents, aged > or =20 years, of Tainan City was studied from 2001 to 2003. The test battery included otoscopy, pure-tone audiometry, and a questionnaire covering relevant personal, occupational, and family history. The hearing threshold level (HTL) was defined as the better ear pure-tone average (BPTA) (i.e. the average of hearing thresholds at frequencies 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz). The prevalence of hearing impairment was 21.4% (95% confidence interval: 19.3-23.7%) at BPTA > or =25 dB HTL. Middle ear disease was a significant risk factor for hearing impairment in addition to age and gender. The overall prevalence of hearing impairment may be higher in Taiwan (17.1%) than in western populations (11.5%), but differences in the definition of hearing impairment severity and variation in sex distribution among studies may account for this higher prevalence.
Department of Otolaryngology, Tainan Municipal Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan.
Cheng-Yu
CY
Lin
Yi-Ching
YC
Yang
Yueliang Leon
YL
Guo
Chih-Hsing
CH
Wu
Chih-Jen
CJ
Chang
Jiunn-Liang
JL
Wu
D000328:Adult; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D005260:Female; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology