Audiometric and Epidemiological Analysis of Elderly in the Veneto Region

Abstract

Background: Presbyacusis, or age-related hearing loss, has become a problem of increasing social interest due to the rise in the mean age of the population. Investigations performed to date have generally been carried out with the aid of self-reporting questionnaires, without the support of objective findings. Objective: The purpose of this study was to analyze an extensive series of elderly people from different areas of the Veneto region to obtain an epidemiological descriptive analysis, as detailed as possible, of their presbyacusis, considering their hearing thresholds at various frequencies, distinguishing findings according to sex and age in classes and the geographical area where the survey was performed. Methods: The survey was carried out collecting information from the audiometric reports on 13,710 subjects of both sexes aged 60 years and over, with a proportion of males (M/F × 100) of 92.02%, referred spontaneously for hearing examination to the ENT departments of eight hospitals between 1986 and 1994. The catchment area includes three provincial capitals and five mainly rural municipalities. Results: The results show that the hearing threshold rises progressively with age in both sexes. The hearing loss is milder in women than in men, especially at the higher frequencies. No important differences emerged among findings recorded in their 80s and in their 90s or among findings in the different geographical areas considered. Conclusions: Statistical descriptive analysis confirms the typical trend of the audiometric curve in presbyacusis, tracing the typical audiometric curve of old age described in the literature. The mean values of the audiometric curve reveal no significant differences between people residing in the country and people living in the cities.

Prevalence of age-related hearing loss in Europe: a review

“…We considered only population and epidemiological studies in English since 1970 with samples in European countries with subjects aged 60 years and above. For example, the study from Megighian et al [9] was excluded because of a non-representative proportion of 92% males. A recent report from Davis et al [10] had to be excluded from Table 3 because of the span of the age group, which was 55–75 years.…”

Epidemiology of age related hearing loss

“…In one study participants from five Italian cities were included (17). The Veneto region is the base for two studies, one with a large number of participants (18). The other includes a comprehensive test battery consisting of a questionnaire and hearing tests (19).…”

Audiologia do envelhecimento: revisão da literatura e perspectivas atuais

“…Clinically, it is approached as a common type of hearing loss caused by cochlear degeneration which affects mainly the base of the cochlea, impairing hearing in the higher frequencies [20][21][22][23] . Peripheral hearing reduction in this population brings about loss to the entire auditory function.…”