title: A Comparison of Self-Report and Audiometric Measures of Hearing and Their Associations With Functional Outcomes in Older Adults.
abstract: The aim was to investigate whether associations of hearing impairment (HI) with functional outcomes in older adults differ when using self-report versus pure-tone audiometry.
  
  
  
  We examined 1,669 participants ≥70 years in National Health and Examination Survey from 2005-2006 and 2009-2010 whose hearing was assessed by self-report and pure-tone audiometry. We explored functional outcomes associated with audiometric HI (low physical activity, poor physical functioning, and hospitalization).
  
  
  
  In adjusted models, we found significant associations of audiometric HI with both subjective and objective outcomes (e.g., dichotomous HI with self-reported difficulty in activities of daily living [ADLs], odds ratio [OR] = 1.47, 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.05, 2.06], and low accelerometer-measured physical activity, OR = 2.19, 95% CI [1.11, 4.34]). In contrast, self-reported HI was only associated with subjective outcomes and not with objective outcomes (e.g., dichotomous HI with difficulty in ADLs, OR = 1.63, 95% CI [1.12, 2.38], and low accelerometer-measured physical activity, OR = 0.95, 95% CI [0.66, 1.35]).
  
  
  
  Results using self-reported hearing should not be considered representative of results using audiometry and may provide distinct aspects of HI in older adults.
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Janet S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions Center on Aging & Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Joshua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Betz
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Deal
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Kevin J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Contrera
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Dane J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Genther
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: David S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Fiona E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Gispen
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions Center on Aging & Health, Baltimore, MD, USA flin1@jhmi.edu.
authors.forename: Frank R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D057566:Self Report; D014481:United States
keywords: audiometry; hearing impairment; older adults; physical function; self-reported hearing