ACCURACY OF SELF-REPORTED HEARING-LOSS

The purpose of this study was to assess the accuracy, in older adults, of questions assessing hearing loss. Study participants (n=3,556), ag ed 48-92 years, were examined in a population-based study of age-relat ed hearing loss in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. Self-report data from the te n-question Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly-screening Versio n (HHIE-S), and four additional questions were compared with hearing l oss as measured by pure-tone air conduction audiometry. The single que stion,'Do you feel you have a hearing loss?' was the most sensitive qu estion (sensitivity=71 per cent); its overall and gender-specific prev alence estimates were within 3.2 per cent of prevalence measures deriv ed audiometrically, although age-group specific estimates were not as accurate. Using an HHIE-S total score >8 resulted in low sensitivity ( 34 per cent) and inaccurate prevalence estimates. These results indica te that, for some applications, one simple question may be sufficient for prevalence surveys of hearing loss among older adults.