Quantitative analysis of the effect of the demographic factors on presbyacusis

Presbyacusis is the most common type of hearing loss, often having profound effects on the quality of life in old age. The objectives of this study were: To analyse of the effect of demographic factors on presbyacusis in Sri Lanka.To quantify the effect of non-demographic risk factors on presbyacusis.

An observational cross-sectional study was carried out involving all the patients who presented to the National Hospital ENT clinic with hearing loss between April 2007 and April 2010. Patients whose pure-tone audiometry results were suggestive of sensorineural hearing deficit and whose tympanometry testing did not show any middle ear problems were assessed using an interviewer-administered questionnaire.

Among the 567 participants studied, the mean age was 63.4yrs. Fifty eight percent were females. The majority of the patients were from the Colombo district (59.3%), however, participants came from ten districts of Sri Lanka. Most of the study participants (64.2%) were married and living with their partners, but 24.7% were widowed and the rest were either unmarried or divorced. 6.1% had communication difficulties leading to disrupted social relationships and 21% felt that hearing impairment (HI) had adversely affected their psychological well-being. The onset of impaired hearing, as perceived by the patients initially and later confirmed by pure-tone audiometry and tymanometry, had occurred at an average age of 62.9yrs.

There was no significant association between presbyacusis and other demographic factors such as gender, education level and marital status. A significant proportion of the participants had been widowed and that fact, too, can reduce their quality of life.