Self reported hearing loss among elderly malaysians.

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Primary Care Medicine
• Geriatrics

Background:

• Hearing loss is a prevalent condition, especially in older adults.
• Early detection is crucial for timely intervention and management.
• Screening tools in primary care settings are needed to identify individuals with hearing impairment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the prevalence of self-reported hearing loss in a primary care setting.
• To compare the accuracy of a single-question screening for hearing loss against pure tone audiometry.
• To evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the self-report question at different hearing loss severity levels.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 111 patients at a primary care facility.
• Self-reported hearing loss was assessed using a single question: "Do you have hearing loss?"
• Pure tone audiometry was conducted to objectively measure hearing thresholds.

Main Results:

• The prevalence of hearing loss was 24.3% based on self-report and 36.9% based on pure tone audiometry.
• At a 25 dBHL (decibels Hearing level) threshold, the single question showed 41.4% sensitivity and 85.0% specificity.
• At a 40 dBHL threshold, sensitivity increased to 55.0% with 82.0% specificity.

Conclusions:

• Hearing loss is highly prevalent among the elderly population attending primary care.
• A single-question self-report for hearing loss demonstrates satisfactory performance in identifying moderate hearing loss.
• The findings support the utility of simple screening questions for hearing loss in primary care settings.