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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| The impact of hearing loss on quality of life in older adults | | Author(s) | Dayna S Dalton, Karen J Cruickshanks, Barbara E K Klein |
| Journal title | The Gerontologist, vol 43, no 5, October 2003 |
| Pages | pp 661-668 |
| Source | http://www.geron.org |
| Keywords | Hearing Impairment ; Quality of life ; Health [elderly] ; Evaluation ; Longitudinal surveys ; United States of America. |
| Annotation | The impact of hearing loss on hearing handicap, communication difficulties, function and health-related quality of life is investigated. Data are for 2,688 people aged 53-97 (42% male) from a 5-year follow-up Epidemiology of Hearing Loss Study, a population-based longitudinal study conducted in Beaver Down, WI. Difficulties with communication were assessed by using the Hearing Handicap for the Elderly - Screening Version (HEE-S), with additional questions regarding communication difficulties in specific situations. Health-related quality of life was assessed using measures of activities of daily living (ADLs), Instrumental ADLs (IADLs) and the Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36). Hearing loss measured by audiometry was categorised on the basis of the pure tone hearing thresholds at 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 kHz. 28% of the participants had a mild hearing loss; 24% had a moderate to severe hearing loss. Severity of hearing loss was significantly associated with having a hearing handicap and with self-reported communication difficulties. Individuals with moderate to severe hearing loss were more likely than those without hearing loss to have impaired ADLs and IADLs. Severity of hearing loss was significantly associated with decreased function in both the Mental Component Summary score and the Physical Component Summary score of the SF-36 as well as with six of the eight individual domain scores. Severity of hearing loss is thus associated with reduced quality of life in older people. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-040504214 A |
| Classmark | BV: F:59: CC: 4C: 3J: 7T |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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