Screening for hearing loss in the elderly using distortion product otoacoustic emissions, pure tones, and a self-assessment tool.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) could be used as a hearing screening tool with elderly individuals living independently, and to compare the utility of different screening protocols: (a) 3 pure-tone screening protocols consisting of 30 dB HL at 1, 2, and 3 kHz; 40 dB HL at 1, 2, and 3 kHz; or 40 dB HL at 1 and 2 kHz; (b) the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly-Screening version (HHIE-S); (c) pure tones at 40 dB HL at 1 and 2 kHz plus the HHIE-S; and (d) DPOAEs.


METHODS
A total of 106 elderly individuals age 65-91 years were screened using the above protocols.


RESULTS
Pass/fail results showed that most individuals failed at 30 dB HL, followed by DPOAEs, the 40-dB HL protocols, the HHIE-S alone, and the combined pure-tone/HHIE-S protocol. All screening results were associated except the HHIE-S and 30 dB HL and the HHIE-S and DPOAEs. A McNemar analysis revealed that the differences between the correlated pass/fail results were significant except for the HHIE-S and 40 dB at 1 and 2 kHz.


CONCLUSIONS
DPOAEs can be used to screen the elderly, with the advantage that individuals do not have to voluntarily respond to the test.
Jupiter
Tina
T
St. John's University, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, 8000 Utopia Parkway, Jamaica, NY 11439, USA. jupitert@stjohns.edu
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D003939:Diagnostic Techniques, Otological / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017084:Otoacoustic Emissions, Spontaneous; D010469:Perceptual Distortion; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires