scholarly journals Diagnostic Validity of Self-Reported Hearing Loss in Elderly Taiwanese Individuals: Diagnostic Performance of a Hearing Self-Assessment Questionnaire on Audiometry

Author(s):  
Tzong-Hann Yang ◽  
Yuan-Chia Chu ◽  
Yu-Fu Chen ◽  
Meng-Yu Chen ◽  
Yen-Fu Cheng ◽  
...  

Key Points: Question: Can the traditional Chinese version of the hearing handicap inventory for elderly screening (HHIE-S) checklist screen for age-related hearing loss (ARHL) in elderly individuals? Findings: In this cross-sectional study of 1696 Taiwanese patients who underwent annual government-funded geriatric health checkups, the Chinese version of the HHIE-S had a sensitivity of 76.9% and a specificity of 79.8% with a cutoff score greater than 6 for identifying patients with disabled hearing loss (defined as a PTA > 40 dB). Meaning: The traditional Chinese version of the HHIE-S is an effective test to detect ARHL and can improve the feasibility of large-scale hearing screening among elderly individuals. Purpose: The traditional Chinese version of the hearing handicap inventory for elderly screening (TC-HHIE-S) was translated from English and is intended for use with people whose native language is traditional Chinese, but its effectiveness and diagnostic performance are still unclear. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of the traditional Chinese version of the HHIE-S for screening for age-related hearing loss (ARHL). Methods: A total of 1696 elderly people underwent the government’s annual geriatric medical examination at community hospitals. In this cross-sectional study, we recorded average conducted pure-tone averages (PTA) (0.5 kHz, 1 kHz, 2 kHz, 4 kHz), age, sex, and HHIE-S data. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to identify the best critical point for detecting hearing impairment, and the validity of the structure was verified by the agreement between the TC-HHIE-S and PTA results. Results: The HHIE-S scores were correlated with the better-ear pure-tone threshold averages (PTAs) at 0.5–4 kHz (correlation coefficient r = 0.45). The internal consistency of the total HHIE-S score was excellent (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.901), and the test-retest reliability was also excellent (Spearman’s correlation coefficient = 0.60, intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.75). In detecting disabled hearing loss (i.e., PTA at 0.5–4 kHz > 40 dB), the HHIE-S cutoff score of > 6 had a sensitivity of 76.9% and a specificity of 79.8%. Conclusions: The traditional Chinese version of the HHIE-S is a valid, reliable, and efficient tool for large-scale screening for ARHL.

2017 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 38-44
Author(s):  
Luis Roque Reis ◽  
Pedro Escada

Introduction: Evidence regarding the effect of speechreading is lacking in age-related hearing loss (presbycusis). Thus, in individuals with presbycusis, this study determined whether speechreading would improve word intelligibility. Moreover, the study investigated the effect of speechreading on word intelligibility depending on hearing impairment severity. Materials and methods: This analytical, cross-sectional study involved two groups of individuals aged > 65 years that were enrolled by convenience sampling: 29 individuals with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss compatible with presbycusis (n=58 ears; mean age, 74.1±9.4 years) and 10 controls with at-most-mild hearing loss (n=58 ears; mean age, 73.8±8.5 years). All participants underwent a comprehensive medical and audiological evaluation, which included speech audiometry with and without observation of the audiologist’s face, i.e. speechreading. Within each group, the effect of speechreading was determined as a change in the speech reception threshold. For all statistical analyses, p < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Both in individuals with presbycusis and controls, speechreading significantly improved speech discrimination (p<.001<.05); however, compared to controls, this effect of speechreading on speech discrimination was more pronounced in individuals with presbycusis (p<.001). Discussion: Individuals with presbycusis or hearing impairment displayed improved spoken-word intelligibility when spoken-word recognition was coupled with speechreading. Thus, speechreading may serve as a “third ear”.


2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
SungHee Kim ◽  
Eun Jung Lim ◽  
Hak Soo Kim ◽  
Jun Ho Park ◽  
Soon Suck Jarng ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 47-57
Author(s):  
Refad A. Azeez

Age related hearing loss is one of the most common chronic health conditions affecting the elderly people. With aging, risk of Presbycusis and hyperlipidemia increases. Although most studies do reach some sort of agreement, the evidence supporting a relationship between presbycusis and hyperlipidemia remains questionable. The objective of this study is to determine the association between age related hearing loss and hyperlipidemia and assess the severity of hearing loss in hyperlipidemic patients. This cross sectional analytic study was carried out at ENT Out Patient Clinic at Al Sader teaching Hospital from March 2019 to December 2019. A cross‑sectional study on 52 patients with Hyperlipidemia and 42 non Hyperlipidemic patients was carried out during March 2019 to December 2019. All patients were evaluated for hearing loss by subjecting to pure tone audiometry, blood investigations were done in form of lipid profile, blood sugars, thyroid function test, blood urea and serum creatinine levels. Group A consisted of 22 (42.3%) males and 30 (57.7%) female while group B consisted of 23 (54.8%) male and 19 (45.2%) female individuals. Audiological assessment by PTA was show that the prevalence of presbycusis among hyperlipidemic group more than non hyperlipidemic with significant statistical difference (P value <0.05). Prevalence was 76.9%. In conclusion; there is statistically significant association between presbycusis and hyperlipidemia especially those with hyercholestrolemia.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 49-57
Author(s):  
Refad Abdul Azeez ◽  
Ahmed Al Ansary ◽  
BThenoon Yasin

"Age related hearing loss is one of the most common chronic health conditions affecting the elderly people. With aging, risk of Presbycusis and hyperlipidemia increases. Although most studies do reach some sort of agreement, the evidence supporting a relationship between presbycusis and hyperlipidemia remains questionable. The objective of this study is to determine the association between age related hearing loss and hyperlipidemia and assess the severity of hearing loss in hyperlipidemic patients. This cross sectional analytic study was carried out at ENT Out Patient Clinic at Al Sader teaching Hospital from March 2019 to December 2019. A cross‑sectional study on 52 patients with Hyperlipidemia and 42 non Hyperlipidemic patients was carried out during March 2019 to December 2019. All patients were evaluated for hearing loss by subjecting to pure tone audiometry, blood investigations were done in form of lipid profile, blood sugars, thyroid function test, blood urea and serum creatinine levels. Group A consisted of 22 (42.3%) males and 30 (57.7%) female while group B consisted of 23 (54.8%) male and 19 (45.2%) female individuals. Audiological assessment by PTA was show that the prevalence of presbycusis among hyperlipidemic group more than non hyperlipidemic with significant statistical difference (P value <0.05). Prevalence was 76.9%. In conclusion; there is statistically significant association between presbycusis and hyperlipidemia especially those with hyercholestrolemia.


2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (Suppl. 1) ◽  
pp. 10-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie C. Rigters ◽  
Mick Metselaar ◽  
Marjan H. Wieringa ◽  
Robert J. Baatenburg de Jong ◽  
Albert Hofman ◽  
...  

To contribute to a better understanding of the etiology in age-related hearing loss, we carried out a cross-sectional study of 3,315 participants (aged 52-99 years) in the Rotterdam Study, to analyze both low- and high-frequency hearing loss in men and women. Hearing thresholds with pure-tone audiometry were obtained, and other detailed information on a large number of possible determinants was collected. Hearing loss was associated with age, education, systolic blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, body mass index, smoking and alcohol consumption (inverse correlation). Remarkably, different associations were found for low- and high-frequency loss, as well as between men and women, suggesting that different mechanisms are involved in the etiology of age-related hearing loss.


2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrés Martínez Mora ◽  
Elin Lundström ◽  
Taro Langner ◽  
Paul Hockings ◽  
Lars Johansson ◽  
...  

Abstract Background and Aims Kidney parenchymal volume (KPV) presents a natural variation with respect to sex, age, and body size, and is also affected by diseases such as diabetes. The UK Biobank (UKBB) is a large-scale study including clinical and MRI data. The current project investigated the association between KPV and age in UKBB participants without diabetes and with diabetes type 1 (T1D), and type 2 (T2D). In addition, the effect of different treatments for T2D on KPV was investigated. Method KPV was estimated in 35,703 UKBB participants (52% women, age = 45-82 years) with a deep-learning-based segmentation of both kidneys (Dice = 0.956, error &lt; 4%). The cohort was classified into Control, T1D and T2D subjects using an algorithm developed on UKBB clinical data (Eastwood et al 2016). Individuals with T2D were further divided into groups related to treatment: Lifestyle (no pharmaceuticals, i.e. light treatment, mean disease duration of 6.2 years), Metformin (metformin as the only pharmaceutical, i.e. intermediate treatment, mean disease duration of 8.3 years), and Other (more potent treatment, combination of pharmaceuticals, mean disease duration of 14.1 years). KPV was studied as a function of age in the different groups, divided according to sex. The statistical difference in mean KPV between groups was tested. For each group, the association between KPV and age was assessed by linear regression. Comparison of line slopes was conducted to investigate whether age-related patterns in KPV differed statistically between groups. Results The moving average curve of KPV vs age, in controls and subjects with T1D and T2D, is shown in Fig 1A (with a 15-year sliding window). The corresponding curve for different T2D treatment groups is depicted in Fig 1B. Fig 2A-D presents results for the comparison of KPV and regression line slope between the subject groups. According to Fig 1A and 2A, KPV is usually higher in subjects with T1D and T2D than in controls. As shown in Fig 1B and 2B, T2D subjects with longer disease duration and on pharmaceutical treatment (Metformin or Other) are generally more prone to large KPV than subjects with adapted lifestyle as treatment. The decreasing KPV pattern with age is faster in T2D subjects than controls but not significantly different between T1D subjects and controls (Fig 1A and 2C). Women in group Other also show a pattern of steeper age-related decline in KPV compared to remaining women with T2D treatment (Fig 1B and 2D). Conclusion Compared to controls, T1D subjects show enlarged KPV similar to that of T2D subjects, which is in line with previous literature. Subjects with T2D show a pattern of steeper age-related decline in KPV compared to controls. Female T2D subjects with longer disease duration, usually on a more potent treatment (beyond adaption of lifestyle and metformin as the only pharmaceutical), are more prone to enlarged KPV and exhibit a pattern of steeper age-related decline in KPV. This may be due to hyperfiltration caused by diabetes, resulting in increased kidney size. The normal loss of glomeruli with age could be accelerated by diabetes, leading to a greater loss in KPV per year in diabetics. Steeper KPV decline patterns in disease could also be caused by selection bias where old subjects with large KPV and related complications are less likely to participate in the study.


2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (01) ◽  
pp. 001-008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Servidoni ◽  
Lucieni Conterno

Introduction Hearing losses inherent to the natural process of aging represent today a major public health issue, despite the little attention that their adequate care still receives. Early recognition and proper management of these shortcomings can significantly improve hearing, as well as the patient's general quality of life, reducing the overall impact of this important and prevalent condition of the aging process. Objective The aim of this research was to evaluate the accuracy of the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly - Screening Version (HHIE-S) in the diagnosis of hearing loss in the elderly when compared with the audiometric test. Methods Through a cross-sectional study, our target population was composed of 138 individuals, aged over 60 and with any otorhinolaryngological complaints, recruited at the Clinic of Otorhinolaryngology and Speech Therapy of the Faculdade de Medicina de Marília (Famema), in the city of Marília, SP, Brazil. Patients already in the process of auditory rehabilitation were excluded, as well as those who did not demonstrate the minimum level of oral understanding necessary to allow the interview. Results The prevalence of hearing loss according to the questionnaire was of 76.1%, while audiometry showed 79.7%. We found the diagnostic accuracy of the instrument to be of 86.2%, with a sensitivity of 89.1% and a specificity of 75.0%, regardless of gender. Conclusion Thereby, we conclude that the standardized questionnaire under rating is suitable for the screening of hearing loss in the elderly, given its high accuracy and user-friendly quality.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leila Behboodi ◽  
Vijay Kumar Chattu ◽  
Fatemeh Adelirad ◽  
Heleh Heizomi ◽  
Mohammad Asghari-Jafarabadi ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: There is a great need for a valid hearing loss measurement tool in the Persian language to help identify hearing handicap and potential communicational difficulties among Persian speaking older adults. The present study was aimed to validate and adapt the original English version of Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly (HHIE) into Persian language.Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed and data was collected from August to November 2019 in Tabriz, Iran among the older adults aged 60 years and above whose hearing loss had been confirmed by audiometry. Self-reporting and face-to-face interviews were the data collection methods in this study. The statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 26.0 (SPSS and STATA 14).Results: An exploratory factor analysis of data resulted in two factors, which included 9 of the 10 items and accounted for 87.00% of the variance. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (0.85) and the test–retest reliability score (0.73) indicated good internal consistency.Conclusions: The results showed that HHIE-S is a valid and reliable tool for assessing hearing handicap among Persian speaking and Iranian older adults.


GeroScience ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Giulia Bacalini ◽  
Anna Reale ◽  
Marco Malavolta ◽  
Fabio Ciccarone ◽  
María Moreno-Villanueva ◽  
...  

AbstractAgeing leaves characteristic traces in the DNA methylation make-up of the genome. However, the importance of DNA methylation in ageing remains unclear. The study of subtelomeric regions could give promising insights into this issue. Previously reported associations between susceptibility to age-related diseases and epigenetic instability at subtelomeres suggest that the DNA methylation profile of subtelomeres undergoes remodelling during ageing. In the present work, this hypothesis has been tested in the context of the European large-scale project MARK-AGE. In this cross-sectional study, we profiled the DNA methylation of chromosomes 5 and 21 subtelomeres, in more than 2000 age-stratified women and men recruited in eight European countries. The study included individuals from the general population as well as the offspring of nonagenarians and Down syndrome subjects, who served as putative models of delayed and accelerated ageing, respectively. Significant linear changes of subtelomeric DNA methylation with increasing age were detected in the general population, indicating that subtelomeric DNA methylation changes are typical signs of ageing. Data also show that, compared to the general population, the dynamics of age-related DNA methylation changes are attenuated in the offspring of centenarian, while they accelerate in Down syndrome individuals. This result suggests that subtelomeric DNA methylation changes reflect the rate of ageing progression. We next attempted to trace the age-related changes of subtelomeric methylation back to the influence of diverse variables associated with methylation variations in the population, including demographics, dietary/health habits and clinical parameters. Results indicate that the effects of age on subtelomeric DNA methylation are mostly independent of all other variables evaluated.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 157-157
Author(s):  
Ilaria Bortone ◽  
Francesco Panza ◽  
Giancarlo Sborgia ◽  
Gianluigi Giuliani ◽  
Valentina Pastore ◽  
...  

Abstract Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) and retinal vessel changes have both been associated to neurodegeneration/dementia, suggesting a possible link between these two conditions in older age. We analyzed data on 886 older participants (65 years+, age range: 65-92 years) in the cross-sectional population-based Salus in Apulia Study. OCT-A scan was used to measure SVD and DVD of the capillary plexi of the macula in different retinal quadrants. Peripheral ARHL was defined as &gt;40 dB HL of PTA (0.5,1,2, and 4KHz) in the worst ear, and age-related CAPD as &lt;50% at the SSI-ICM test in at least one ear. DVD at the whole retina and at the parafoveal quadrant were inversely associated only with age-related CAPD [OR:0.93; 95%CI: 0.88-0.96 and OR:0.94; 95 CI:0.90-0.99, respectively]. The association of retinal vascular density with age-related CAPD may bring us a further step forward in understanding the biological mechanisms underlying the links between neurodegeneration/dementia and ARHL.


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