title: Profile and prevalence of hearing complaints in the elderly.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hearing is essential for the processing of acoustic information and the understanding of speech signals. Hearing loss may be associated with cognitive decline, depression and reduced functionality.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To analyze the prevalence of hearing complaints in elderly individuals from Rio Grande do Sul and describe the profile of the study participants with and without hearing complaints.
  
  
  METHODS
  7315 elderly individuals interviewed in their homes, in 59 cities in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, participated in the study. Inclusion criteria were age 60 years or older and answering the question on auditory self-perception. For statistical purposes, the chi-square test and logistic regression were performed to assess the correlations between variables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  139 elderly individuals who did not answer the question on auditory self-perception and 9 who self-reported hearing loss were excluded, totaling 7167 elderly participants. Hearing loss complaint rate was 28% (2011) among the elderly, showing differences between genders, ethnicity, income, and social participation. The mean age of the elderly without hearing complaints was 69.44 (±6.91) and among those with complaint, 72.8 (±7.75) years. Elderly individuals without hearing complaints had 5.10 (±3.78) years of formal education compared to 4.48 (±3.49) years among those who had complaints. Multiple logistic regression observed that protective factors for hearing complaints were: higher level of schooling, contributing to the family income and having received health care in the last six months. Risk factors for hearing complaints were: older age, male gender, experiencing difficulty in leaving home and carrying out social activities.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Among the elderly population of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, the prevalence of hearing complaints reached 28%. The complaint is more often present in elderly men who did not participate in the generation of family income, who did not receive health care, performed social and community activities, had a lower level of schooling and were older.
authors: Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUC-RS), Programa de Pós-Graduação em Gerontologia Biomédica, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors: Magda Aline
authors: MA
authors: Bauer
authors: Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUC-RS), Programa de Pós-Graduação em Gerontologia Biomédica, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors: Ângela Kemel
authors: ÂK
authors: Zanella
authors: Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUC-RS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors: Irênio Gomes
authors: IG
authors: Filho
authors: Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUC-RS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors: Geraldo de
authors: G
authors: Carli
authors: Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUC-RS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors: Adriane Ribeiro
authors: AR
authors: Teixeira
authors: Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUC-RS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. Electronic address: angelo.bos@pucrs.br.
authors: Ângelo José Gonçalves
authors: ÂJG
authors: Bós
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012649:Self Concept; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: Aged; Epidemiologic studies; Estudo epidemiológico; Hearing loss; Idoso; Perda auditiva