Abstract
Objective
Hearing impairment has major financial, social, and psychological impacts on the greater community. No previous studies have been reported on the prevalence of hearing impairment in the elders of the Saudi population. The goal of this study is to ascertain the prevalence of hearing impairment and hearing complaints in the elders of the Saudi population.
Methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted through a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire was supervised by medical professionals for 500 subjects with ages that spanned from 41 to 75. Participants in this study were screened by the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly using screening version HHIE-S
Results
Results of the study indicated that out of the 386 eligible subjects, 17.35% (67 participants) had a diagnostic score of greater than 8 points in the HHIE-S screening with a slight male predominance compared to females (52% to 48%). However, 3 participants (4.7%) between the ages of 41 to 45 had HHIE-S scores above 8. Indicating, the prevalence of hearing loss markedly increases with age (10.17% in subjects aged 46-50; 38.3% in subjects aged 71-75).
Conclusion
Findings from this cross-sectional, population-based study are consistent with the literature and suggest that environmental exposure may play a role in age-related hearing loss.