Global characteristics and trends of presbycusis research from 2002 to 2021: a bibliometric study

Age-related hearing loss, also termed presbycusis, is the most prevalent sensory impairment in older adults. Presbycusis research has considerably advanced over the past few decades, however, comprehensive and objective reports on the current state of presbycusis research are lacking. We used bibliometric methods to objectively analyzed the progress of presbycusis research over the past 20 years and to identify the research hotspots and emerging trends in this field.

Eligible literature metadata published between 2002 and 2021 were obtained from the Web of Science Core Collection on September 1, 2022. Bibliometric tools including CiteSpace, VOSviewer, Bibliometrix R Package, Microsoft Excel 2019, and an online bibliometric platform were used to conduct bibliometric and visualized analyses.

A total of 1,693 publications related to presbycusis were retrieved. The number of publications increased continuously from 2002 to 2021, and the USA occupied the lead position in the field, with the highest research output. The most productive and influential institution, author, and journal were the University of California, Frisina DR of the University of South Florida, and Hearing Research, respectively. Co-citation cluster and trend topics analyses revealed that "cochlear synaptopathy", "oxidative stress", and "dementia" were the predominant foci of presbycusis research. Burst detection of keywords indicated that "auditory cortex" and "Alzheimer's disease" were the newly-emerged aspects.

During the past two decades, presbycusis research has been flourishing. The current research foci are "cochlear synaptopathy", "oxidative stress", and "dementia". "Auditory cortex" and "Alzheimer's disease" may be potential future directions in this field. This bibliometric analysis represents the first quantitative overview of presbycusis research, thus providing valuable references and insights for scholars, medical practitioners, and policymakers concerned with this field.