The impact of hearing loss in older adults: a tertiary care hospital based study

Hearing loss is the most common sensory deficit in the elderly, and is becoming a severe social and health problem. Presbycusis is the result of aging which can lead to communication problems compromising the quality of life (QoL).Since the elderly population is increasing worldwide, presbycusis is showing a similar trend. This study intended to identify the impact of hearing loss in the social life of the elderly. A total of 70 elderly patients attending Nepal Medical College Teaching Hospital who were found to have sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) on pure tone audiometry (PTA) were recruited for this study.None of the patients had used hearing aids in the past. To assess their handicap due to hearing impairment a Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly (HHIE) questionnaire was used and patients were graded as: no handicap, mild to moderate handicap and significant handicap. Pure-tone averages (PTA) were calculated for the thresholds at 0.5, 1 and 2 kHz in each ear. Patients with their PTA values between 26 to 40 dBHL were interpreted as having mild SNHL, those between 41 to 55dBHL as moderate SNHL and those above 55 dBHL as severe SNHL. Out of 70 patients, 65 had some degree of handicap ranging from mild to severe. The severity of handicap was significantly associated with the degree of hearing loss in both ears.