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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Howard J. Hoffman, MA¹, May S. Chiu, BS¹, Charles F. Dillon, MD, PhD², Asel Ryskulova, MD, PhD, MPH³, and Richard Klein, MPH³. (1) Epidemiology and Biostatistics, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Executive Plaza South, Suite 400A, 6120 Executive Boulevard, MSC 7180, Bethesda, MD 20892-7180, 301-402-1843, hoffmanh@nidcd.nih.gov, (2) Division of Health Examination Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics, 3311 Toledo, Hyattsville, MD 20782, (3) Office of Analysis, Epidemiology and Health Promotion, National Center for Health Statistics, CDC, 3311 Toledo Road, Room 6309, Hyattsville, MD 20782

Although hearing loss (HL) increases greatly with age and economic costs of severe-to-profound HL exceed $6.7 billion annually, only limited national data on prevalence of HL and use of rehabilitation devices exist. The 2002 NHIS, a nationally representative household survey, included questions on age of onset, main cause, and severity of HL and hearing aid (HA) use. HL was reported for 32.5 million and the most common main cause listed was age. The 1999–2004 NHANES included HL questions in home interviews while thresholds (0.5–8 kHz) were determined independently in mobile exam centers. Both NHIS and NHANES data are used to track Healthy People 2010 objectives. At baseline in 2001, only 15.0% of adults 20–69 years with HL ever used a HA. HA use was significantly lower in males, Mexican Americans, and adults with less than high school education. Also, estimates of new cochlear implants (CI) in 2001 showed disparities: males and older adults 65+ years were less likely to receive a CI than females and younger adults. Although “hearing exam in past 5 years” increased from 29% for adults 20–69 years to 37% for 70+ years, the latter rate is low considering the high prevalence of HL among older adults. By 2030, the number of older adults is projected to increase 59%, while older adults with HL will double from 20.7 to 40.3 million. The increased number of older adults with HL will present a major public health problem and increased demand for health care services.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the age-related prevalence of hearing loss and the expected increase in the number of older Americans with hearing loss in the next quarter century
• Discuss disparities in the use of rehabilitation devices (e.g., hearing aids, cochlear implants) to ameliorate the effects of hearing loss
• Identify the data used to measure and track progress in achieving hearing health objectives for Healthy People 2010

Keywords: Communication, Aging

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation