Work

Prevalence of Subclinical Hearing Loss in the United States

Year: 2023

Type: article

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: Current definitions of hearing loss (HL) may be insufficiently strict, as subclinical hearing loss (SCHL; >0 and ≤25 dB hearing level) has been associated with deleterious age-related conditions. SCHL prevalence and mean age of HL onset in the United States has not been characterized. STUDY DESIGN: A cross-sectional epidemiologic prevalence study. SETTING: US Community. METHODS: We analyzed cross-sectional audiometric data in the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2005-2012, 2015-2018, n = 15,649). Results were scaled to the current population using weighting. RESULTS: 79.6% of participants (227.32 million Americans) had SCHL. The mean age of HL onset at thresholds of 25, 20, and 15 dB was 74, 66, and 55 years, respectively, for the 4-frequency pure-tone average, and 48, 44, and 35 years for the high-frequency pure-tone average. CONCLUSION: We present SCHL prevalence and define HL onset by various sensitive definitions. These results inform ongoing public health efforts to increase hearing aid utilization, particularly given the arrival of over-the-counter hearing aids.

Source: Otolaryngology

DOI: 10.1002/ohn.326

Authors: Jacqueline M. Dragon, Maeher R. Grewal, Alexandria L. Irace, Emmanuel Garcia Morales, Justin S. Golub

Institutions: Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University

Language: English

Topic: Hearing Loss and Rehabilitation

Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funder: National Institute on Aging