Sex Differences in a Cross Sectional Study of Age-related Hearing Loss in Korean

Abstract

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to obtain sex- and age-specific reference level for hearing threshold of normal aging in Korean and to determine if the rate of change in pure-tone hearing thresholds differed by sex.MethodsSubjects were clients who visited the Health Promotion Center, Daegu Fatima Hospital, Daegu, Korea, from January 2004 to September 2005. Pure-tone audiometric measures were obtained from 3,470 subjects who also completed a hearing questionnaire. The slope of a linear regression was used to estimate the rate of change in pure-tone thresholds at 0.25 to 8 kHz for each ear in 214 men and 902 women without past history of otorrhea, usage of ototoxic drugs, head injury, job in noisy environment, and military service.ResultsHearing thresholds were elevated with age in all test frequencies. Significant sex differences were found in pure-tone thresholds at 4 and 8 kHz after adjusting for age using analysis of covariance. In those high frequencies, hearing was worse in men than in women. The average rate of change in threshold was 0.28 and 0.24 dB per year at 0.25 kHz, increasing gradually to 1.27 and 1.05 dB per year at 8 kHz for men and women, respectively. Men had significantly faster rates of threshold increase at 4 and 8 kHz than women.ConclusionThese cross-sectional measures of hearing levels and rate of threshold increases at 4 and 8 kHz showed significant sex differences in Korean men and women with little evidence of noise-induced hearing loss.

Comparação entre critérios de classificação dos achados audiométricos em idosos

“…These findings corroborate national and international studies which have shown predominance of occurrence of hearing loss in male subjects (7,(16)(17)(18)(19) . Every subject of this survey related some kind of audiological complaint during the anamnesis.…”

“…Various subjects in this survey reported noise exposure. A few works have shown that men are more exposed to noise than women (17,23) . This could explain a greater proportion of hearing loss among male subjects in the present study.…”

Perfil audiológico de idosos submetidos à reabilitação vestibular

“…In this study, more than 70% of the sample exhibited mild-to-moderate hearing loss (Table 4), with a mild downward sloping configuration in both groups (Table 3). These findings corroborate the results of other studies that investigated hearing in older adults 10,23,24,29 . As presbycusis is associated with aging, being caused by auditory degeneration of the basal portion of the cochlea 12,24 , the predominance of sensorineural hearing loss attended by gradual affection of the audibility thresholds was expected, as the high frequencies are the most severely affected in presbycusis.…”

“…The results of speech audiometry were classified according to Jerger, Speaks & Trammell (1968) 22 . condition impairs the ability to understand speech 4,10 . From the audiological perspective, it is characterized by sensorineural hearing loss, with the auditory threshold for high frequencies affected.…”

Pengaruh Hemodialisis Terhadap Kejadian Kurang Pendengaran Sensorineural Pada Penderita Gagal Ginjal Kronik

“…16 Lee dkk. 5 dalam penelitian sebelumnya menemukan hubungan antara usia dan penurunan ambang dengar pada usia lanjut.…”