Objective: Hearing loss has been identified as one of the most frequent conditions affecting the elderly population. The purpose of this study was to provide estimates of the prevalence of self-perceived hearing problems in a middle-aged to elderly general population and to make a comparison among generations and between genders regarding the relationship between audiometric measurements and hearing problems.
Material and methods: The study was conducted using a population-based sample of 2150 adults, aged 40-79 years, who participated in the Longitudinal Study of Aging conducted by the National Institute for Longevity Sciences between 1997 and 2000. A questionnaire on hearing problems was administered and pure-tone audiometry was conducted.
Results: A third of subjects in their 40s and half of the subjects aged > 60 years were aware of having difficulty hearing. The audiometric thresholds in both the better and worse ears were associated with self-perceived hearing difficulty in all age groups. Statistically significant age and gender differences were observed in each respondent group. The older group tended to underestimate their hearing difficulty in comparison with the younger group, and males tended to underestimate their hearing difficulty more than females.
Conclusion: These results may contribute to the development of an intervention strategy for auditory rehabilitation for the middle-aged and elderly populations.