Hearing Loss and Its Burden of Disease in a Large German Cohort-Hearing Loss in Germany

Hearing loss is the most common sensory impairment worldwide. It restricts patients in many aspects of their daily lives and can lead to social exclusion. Understanding this burden is a mandatory requirement for the care of those affected. Therefore, the aim of this study was to estimate the burden of hearing loss in a large German cohort.

Cohort study.

The Gutenberg Health Study is designed as a single-center, prospective, and observational cohort study and representative for the city of Mainz, Germany, with its district. Participants were interviewed concerning common otologic symptoms and tested by pure-tone audiometry. The primary outcome was hearing impairment stratified by age and sex. The prevalence of tinnitus was estimated for a subcohort to calculate disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). All results were weighted by the European Standard Population (ESP) 2013.

A total of 5,024 participants (mean age: 61.2 years, 2,591 men and 2,433 women) were included in the study. Hearing impairment showed the following prevalence: 28.2% (95% confidence interval [CI], 26.9%-29.4%) mild impairment, 10.1% (95% CI, 9.3%-11.0%) moderate impairment, 2.3% (95% CI, 1.9%-2.7%) moderately severe impairment, 0.2% (95% CI, 0.1%-0.4%) severe impairment, 0% (95% CI, 0.0%-0.1%) profound impairment, and 0.1% (95% CI, 0.0%-0.2%) complete impairment. Weighted for the ESP 2013 (all ages), hearing impairment across all levels (with/without tinnitus) causes a total of 2,118.97 DALYs per 100,000.

With 40.9% affected, the hearing loss represents a relevant burden of the German population. Understanding this will provide the basis for future guidelines on how to care for these patients.

2 Laryngoscope, 132:1843-1849, 2022.