Self-reported hearing problems among older adults: prevalence and comparison to measured hearing impairment.
BACKGROUND
There are not many population-based epidemiological studies on the association between self-reported hearing problems and measured hearing thresholds in older adults. Previous studies have shown that the relationship between self-reported hearing difficulties and measured hearing thresholds is unclear and, according to our knowledge, there are no previous population-based studies reporting hearing thresholds among subjects with hyperacusis.


OBJECTIVE
The aim was to investigate the prevalence of self-reported hearing problems, that is, hearing difficulties, difficulties in following a conversation in noise, tinnitus, and hyperacusis, and to compare the results with measured hearing thresholds in older adults.


METHODS
Cross-sectional, population-based, and unscreened.


METHODS
Random sample of subjects (n=850) aged 54-66 yr living in the city of Oulu (Finland) and the surrounding areas.


METHODS
Otological examination, pure tone audiometry, questionnaire survey


RESULTS
The prevalence of self-reported hearing problems was 37.1% for hearing difficulties, 43.3% for difficulties in following a conversation in noise, 29.2% for tinnitus, and 17.2% for hyperacusis. More than half of the subjects had no hearing impairment, or HI (BEHL[better ear hearing level]0.5-4 kHz<20 dB HL) even though they reported hearing problems. Subjects with self-reported hearing problems, including tinnitus and hyperacusis, had significantly poorer hearing thresholds than those who did not report hearing problems. Self-reported hearing difficulties predicted hearing impairment in the pure-tone average at 4, 6, and 8 kHz, and at the single frequency of 4 kHz.


CONCLUSIONS
The results indicate that self-reported hearing difficulties are more frequent than hearing impairment defined by audiometric measurement. Furthermore, self-reported hearing difficulties seem to predict hearing impairment at high frequencies (4-8 kHz) rather than at the frequencies of 0.5-4 kHz, which are commonly used to define the degree of hearing impairment in medical and legal issues.
Department of Clinical Medicine, Otorhinolaryngology, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland. samuli.hannula@oulu.fi
Samuli
S
Hannula
Risto
R
Bloigu
Kari
K
Majamaa
Martti
M
Sorri
Elina
E
Mäki-Torkko
D000368:Aged; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D012001:Hyperacusis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011897:Random Allocation; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*