IS AGE-RELATED MACULOPATHY RELATED TO HEARING-LOSS

Objective: To describe the relationship of age-related maculopathy (AR M) to hearing loss. Design: Population-based cohort study. Participant s: All 3397 adults (age range, 48-92 years) living in Beaver Dam, Wis, who were examined for age related eve disease and hearing loss from M arch 1, 1993, to July 18, 1995, and who had analyzable hearing thresho lds in at least 1 ear and fundus photographs gradable for ARM in at le ast 1 eye. Methods: Characteristics of drusen and other lesions typica l of ARM were determined by grading stereoscopic color fundus photogra phs using the Wisconsin Age-Related Maculopathy Grading System. We use d standard protocols of pure-tone air-conduction audiometry to assess hearing loss, which was defined as the pure-tone average of hearing th resholds at 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz greater than 25-dB hearing le vel. Results: The prevalence of ARM was 25.4%: and of hearing loss was 45.0% in this population. Both conditions were present in 15.1%. The relationships between early ARM lesions and hearing loss were not stat istically significant, After controlling for age and sex, persons with late ARM were more likely (odds ratio, 3.15; 95% confidence interval, 1.34-7.42) to have hearing loss than persons without late ARM, This r elation did not change when other factors related to ARM or hearing lo ss (eg, cigarette smoking status, history of occupational noise exposu re and history of cardiovascular disease) were entered into multivaria te models. Conclusions: These population-based estimates document the frequent coexistence of signs of ARM and hearing loss. As late ARM is an important cause of loss of vision, and as hearing loss is associate d with difficulty in communicating, the high frequencies of sensory co morbidity may affect maintenance of independent functioning as people age. Further study is necessary to examine why late ARM and hearing lo ss are associated.