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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Severity of age-related hearing loss is associated with impaired activities of daily living | Author(s) | Bamini Gopinath, Julie Schneider, Catherine M McMahon |
Journal title | Age and Ageing, vol 41, no 2, March 2012 |
Pages | pp 195-200 |
Source | http://ageing.oxfordjournals.org/ http://www.bgs.org.uk/ |
Keywords | Hearing Impairment ; Measurement ; Activities of older people ; Mobility ; Inactivity. |
Annotation | The study aimed to assess the association between hearing impairment and activity limitations as assessed by the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) scale. 1,952 Blue Mountains Hearing Study participants aged 60 years and above had their hearing levels measured using pure-tone audiometry. A survey instrument with questions on functional status as determined by the Older Americans Resources and Services ADL scale was administered. 164 (10.4%) participants reported ADL difficulty. A higher proportion of hearing impaired than non-impaired adults reported difficulties in performing three out of the seven basic ADL and six out of the seven instrumental ADL tasks. After multivariable adjustment, increased severity of hearing loss was associated with impaired ADL. Subjects with moderate to severe hearing loss had a 2.9-fold increased likelihood of reporting difficulty in ADL, compared with those without. Participants aged under 75 years with hearing loss had a twofold higher odds of impaired ADL compared with those without. Having worn or wearing a hearing aid was also associated with a twofold increased likelihood of impaired ADL. The authors conclude that functional status as measured by a common ADL scale is diminished in older hearing impaired adults. The findings suggest that severely diminished hearing could make the difference between independence and the need for formal support services or placement. (JL). |
Accession Number | CPA-120508007 A |
Classmark | BV: 3R: G: C4: C5 |
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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