Prevalence, Age-Standardized Prevalence, and Incidence Rates of Bilateral High-Frequency Hearing Loss among Japanese...

Hearing loss is a public concern, considering its high prevalence and negative effects on older adults. Limited data on hearing loss are available from Japan, which has a high aging rate. Hearing loss generally begins bilaterally at high frequencies with age. This study aimed to describe the prevalence, age-standardized prevalence, and incidence rates of bilateral high-frequency hearing loss (HFHL), using data from Japan.

This descriptive study utilized Ningen Dock and regular health check-up examination data obtained from the Seirei Health Care Division from 2014 to 2020. The outcome was bilateral inaudibility of 40 dB at 4 kHz (bilateral HFHL). The prevalence in each age group in 2020, age-standardized prevalence from 2014 to 2020 using the direct method, and incidence rates (per 1,000 person-years) were calculated by sex.

Most participants (60% male) underwent Ningen Dock. Each year, the number of participants was 55,000-62,500. The mean age of participants was in the early 50s. Both the prevalence and incidence rates of bilateral HFHL increased sharply from the 60s and were higher in males than in females across generations; the prevalence was < 4% in the early 50s, reaching 46.5% and 20.2% in males and females, respectively, in their 70s. Incidence rates were 10.8 and 2.1, respectively, in the 50s, increasing to 106.7 and 43.5, respectively, in the 80s. Age-standardized prevalence slightly decreased from 2014 to 2020 in both sexes.

Both the prevalence and incidence rates of bilateral HFHL increased dramatically from the 60s and were higher in males than in females across generations. Age-standardized prevalence slightly decreased during the study period. This study is valuable because of the limited number of studies on hearing loss in Japan. However, most participants were considered to have high socioeconomic status, and further research targeting Japanese individuals is warranted.