Factors Associated With Unilateral Hearing Loss and Impact on Communication in US Adults

Abstract

Objective To investigate the factors associated with unilateral hearing loss (UHL) and its impact on communication in US adults. Study Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Nationally representative sample of US adults. Methods We analyzed data from the 2011-2012 and 2015-2016 National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey, in which participants aged 20 to 69 years completed an audiometric evaluation (n = 8138). UHL was defined as a speech frequency pure-tone average ≥25 dB in the worse hearing ear and <25 dB in the better hearing ear. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between UHL and relevant factors. Results The prevalence of UHL was 8.1% (95% CI, 7.3%-9.0%) in US adults. Factors associated with UHL included older age, male sex, white race, lower level of education, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and off-work noise exposure. Among adults with UHL, 40% (95% CI, 32%-48%) reported subjective trouble with hearing, a rate higher than the 12% (95% CI, 11%-14%) among normal-hearing adults. After adjusting for relevant factors, adults with UHL were more likely to report difficulties with following conversations with noise (odds ratio [OR], 1.7; 95% CI, 1.2-2.5) and frustration when talking to family and friends (OR, 3.0; 95% CI, 1.9-4.6). Higher levels of communication difficulties were observed with worsening level of UHL. Conclusions Adults with UHL report significant communication difficulties in comparison to normal-hearing adults. Further research is needed to understand the psychosocial impact of UHL on adults and ways to improve communication support for adults with UHL.

Social Determinants of Health and Hearing Loss in U.S. Adults

“…30,31 This study found participants with higher education levels had lower odds of HL, which is consistent with prior literature. 13,27 The groups without a high school diploma had close to double the odds of HL as the college graduate or above group. When stratifying by HL severity in multivariate analysis, groups without a high school diploma were associated with moderate and severe/profound HL, but not with mild HL.…”

“…Evidence on smoking as a risk factor for HL is mixed, but primarily favors findings that smoking is associated with increased risk of HL. 12,13,[33][34][35][36] A study of NHANES data from 2011-2012 and 2015-2016 found that smoking tobacco is associated with increased odds of HL. 33 The Nurses' Health Study II also showed an increased risk of HL in smokers, with increased risk with increased packyears and with shorter time since smoking cessation for former smokers.…”

“…10 Other authors have used HL databases to study whether smoking, occupational exposures, and medical comorbidities are associated with HL. [11][12][13][14][15][16][17] This study aims to examine trends in HL disparities and if there is any correlation with SDH to identify groups at increased risk for HL. SDH categories include race/ethnicity, education level, family income-to-federalpoverty level ratio, health care insurance coverage, and health care access.…”

Impact of Hearing Loss and Rehabilitation on the Psychological Well-Being of the Elderly

“…ARHL is an extremely common disorder, and it has a spectrum of effects that ranges from an almost undetectable degree of disability to a profound alteration in the ability to function in society (Ciorba et al, 2012;Choi et al, 2021;Dalton et al, 2003;Ellis et al, 2021). It is a known fact that the onset of ARHL is often insidious, and is frequently accompanied by subtle compensatory strategies, hence is often overlooked by physicians and patients.…”

“…Hearing loss is independently associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline over time with significant associations between greater hearing loss and poorer cognitive function (Choi et al, 2021;Ellis et al, 2021;Lin et al, 2013). Social isolation and loneliness, may be the possible factors mediating the link between hearing loss and cognitive decline (Choi et al, 2021;Dalton et al, 2003;Ellis et al, 2021).…”