Table 3.
Weighted Prevalence and Adjusted Prevalence Ratios of Deafness or Serious Difficulty Hearing, 2014 NHIS
| Weighted prevalence | Adjusted PR (95% CI)b | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristics | Samplea n (weighted %) | % (95% CI) | p-value | Full sample | Sub-samplec |
| All | 41,339 (100.0) | 6.0 (5.7, 6.3) | |||
| Socio-demographic and geographic characteristics | |||||
| Sex | <0.001 | ||||
| Male | 19,531 (48.2) | 7.3 (6.8, 7.8) | 1.75 (1.60, 1.93) *** | 1.85 (1.66, 2.06) *** | |
| Female | 21,808 (51.8) | 4.8 (4.5, 5.2) | ref | ref | |
| Age, years | <0.001 | ||||
| 18–29 | 8,500 (21.4) | 1.2 (0.9, 1.5) | ref | ref | |
| 30–39 | 7,232 (16.8) | 1.3 (1.1, 1.7) | 1.27 (0.94, 1.72) | 1.60 (1.13, 2.27)*** | |
| 40–49 | 7,293 (17.1) | 2.3 (1.9, 2.8) | 2.26 (1.68, 3.03) *** | 2.81 (1.95, 4.04) *** | |
| 50–59 | 7,597 (18.2) | 5.2 (4.6, 5.9) | 4.80 (3.69, 6.25) *** | 6.62 (4.80, 9.12) *** | |
| 60–69 | 5,704 (14.0) | 10.0 (9.0, 11.1) | 8.78 (6.88, 11.21) *** | 12.53 (9.14, 17.18) *** | |
| 70–79 | 3,204 (8.0) | 17.0 (15.3, 18.8) | 14.02 (10.84, 18.13) *** | 18.92 (13.86, 25.81) *** | |
| ≥80 | 1,809 (4.5) | 31.5 (28.7, 34.4) | 25.40 (19.67, 32.79) *** | 38.89 (28.66, 52.76) *** | |
| Race/ethnicity | < 0.001 | ||||
| Hispanic | 7,898 (15.0) | 3.7 (3.2, 4.3) | 0.70 (0.60, 0.83) *** | 0.68 (0.56, 0.82) *** | |
| Non-Hispanic black | 5,107 (11.6) | 3.9 (3.3, 4.5) | 0.63 (0.53, 0.74) *** | 0.54 (0.44, 0.66) *** | |
| Non-Hispanic white | 24,532 (65.9) | 7.1 (6.1, 6.9) | ref | ref | |
| Non-Hispanic Asian | 2,702 (5.4) | 3.7 (2.9, 4.7) | 0.72 (0.57, 0.91) ** | 0.68 (0.53, 0.89) ** | |
| Non-Hispanic American Indian /Alaska Native | 282 (0.5) | 6.5 (4.1, 10.3) | 1.02 (0.65, 1.59) | 1.18 (0.74, 1.86) | |
| Non-Hispanic other | 818 (1.6) | 4.0 (2.6, 6.1) | 0.84 (055, 1.27) | 0.80 (0.49, 1.31) | |
| Education | < 0.001 | ||||
| <High school diploma | 5,312 (11.1) | 9.8 (8.8, 10.9) | 1.60 (1.34, 1.90) *** | 1.63 (1.34, 1.97) *** | |
| High school diploma | 12,153 (28.8) | 6.9 (6.4, 7.5) | 1.36 (1.18, 1.56) *** | 1.38 (1.18, 1.61) *** | |
| Some college | 12,323 (30.1) | 5.5 (5.0, 6.1) | 1.38 (1.19, 1.61) *** | 1.42 (1.19, 1.68) *** | |
| ≥ College degree | 11,011 (28.6) | 4.1 (3.6, 4.6) | ref | ref | |
| Family income | < 0.001 | ||||
| <$20,000 | 6,896 (15.5) | 8.7 (7.8, 9.6) | 1.67 (1.43, 1.97) *** | 1.48 (1.23, 1.77) *** | |
| $20,000–<$35,000 | 6,802 (15.7) | 8.8 (7.9, 9.8) | 1.49 (1.29, 1.72) *** | 1.41 (1.20, 1.66) *** | |
| $35,000–<$50,000 | 5,770 (13.8) | 5.9 (5.2, 6.8) | 1.15 (0.99, 1.35) | 1.13 (0.94, 1.35) | |
| $50,000–<$75,000 | 7,284 (17.5) | 5.9 (5.2, 6.7) | 1.25 (1.06, 1.47) ** | 1.24 (1.04, 1.47) ** | |
| ≥$75,000 | 14,587 (37.5) | 3.8 (3.4, 4.2) | ref | ref | |
| Regiond | 0.024 | ||||
| Northeast | 6,784 (17.3) | 5.0 (4.4, 5.7) | ref | ref | |
| Midwest | 8,391 (22.8) | 6.0 (5.4, 67) | 1.19 (1.01, 1.40) * | 1.18 (0.99, 1.41) | |
| South | 14,379 (37.7) | 6.4 (5.9, 7.0) | 1.35 (1.18, 1.56) *** | 1.29 (1.11,1.51) *** | |
| West | 11,785 (22.2) | 6.1 (5.4, 6.9) | 1.37 (1.17, 1.61) *** | 1.35 (1.13, 1.60) *** | |
| Hearing health questions | |||||
| Have been told you have a hearing problem by friends or relatives | < 0.001 | ||||
| Yes | 2,948 (15.8) | 33.9 (31.8, 36.0) | 11.41 (9.53, 13.66) *** | 26.97 (19.89, 36.68) *** | |
| No | 15,419 (84.2) | 1.9 (1.6, 2.2) | ref | ref | |
| Ever used a hearing aid | < 0.001 | ||||
| Yes | 827 (4.4) | 72.7 (68.5, 76.4) | 12.32 (10.67, 14.23) *** | 24.04 (19.47, 29.68) *** | |
| No | 17,564 (95.6) | 4.0 (3.7, 4.4) | ref | ref | |
| Reported hearing acuity (without a hearing aid or other amplification device) | < 0.001 | ||||
| Excellent | 8,947 (49.4) | 0.5 (0.4, 0.8) | ref | ||
| Good | 6,080 (32.7) | 1.5 (1.2, 1.9) | 2.21 (1.42, 3.41) *** | ||
| A little trouble | 2,076 (11.1) | 17.7 (15.8, 19.8) | 23.22 (15.67, 34.41) *** | ||
| Moderate trouble | 790 (4.2) | 51.0 (46.5, 55.4) | 64.82 (43.86, 95.82) *** | ||
| A lot of trouble | 449 (2.3) | 82.0 (77.3, 85.9) | 112.88 (77.83, 163.70) *** | ||
| Deaf | 49 (0.3) | 99.9 (92.4, 100.0) | 157.06 (109.25, 225.80) *** | ||
| Gallaudet Functional Hearing Scale | <0.001 | ||||
| (a) Can hear and understand whispering from across a quiet room without seeing face of speaker | 14,541 (35.2) | 2.3 (2.0, 2.7) | ref | ref | |
| (b) If “no” to (a): Can hear and understand talking in a normal voice across a quiet room without seeing face of speaker | 2,639 (6.1) | 15.6 (14.0, 17.4) | 3.75 (3.18, 4.42) *** | 6.03 (4.56, 7.98) *** | |
| (c) If “no” to (a) and (b): Can hear and understand shouting across a quiet room without seeing face of person shouting | 683 (1.6) | 54.0 (49.0, 59.0) | 12.33 (10.18, 14.94) *** | 29.18 (21.83, 39.02) *** | |
| (d) If “no” to (a), (b), and (c) | 260 (0.6) | 70.5 (63.4, 76.8) | 17.04 (13.50, 21.52) *** | 43.87 (31.33, 61.43) *** | |
| Have trouble hearing when there is background noise | <0.001 | ||||
| Never | 10,201 (55.9) | 1.3 (1.0, 1.6) | ref | ref | |
| Seldom | 4,074 (22.0) | 3.7 (3.1, 4.6) | 2.29 (1.73, 3.03) *** | 5.41 (2.88, 10.16) *** | |
| About half the time | 1,735 (9.4) | 17.2 (15.0, 19.6) | 7.78 (6.13, 9.87) *** | 23.79 (13.78, 41.07) *** | |
| Usually | 1,256 (6.8) | 24.4 (21.6, 27.4) | 10.83 (8.60, 13.63) *** | 39.43 (23.05, 67.45) *** | |
| Always | 1,092 (5.7) | 38.0 (34.4, 41.7) | 17.17 (13.83, 21.31) *** | 72.53 (43.36, 121.33) *** | |
| Feel frustrated with your hearing when talking to friends or relatives | < 0.001 | ||||
| Never | 5,760 (60.6) | 5.1 (4.5, 5.8) | ref | ref | |
| Seldom | 2,072 (22.9) | 14.3 (12.5, 16.3) | 2.38 (1.97, 2.87) *** | 3.17 (2.37, 4.2) *** | |
| About half the time | 805 (8.4) | 30.4 (26.3, 34.7) | 4.72 (3.88, 5.75) *** | 8.07 (6.11, 10.65) *** | |
| Usually | 453 (4.4) | 45.3 (39.5, 51.2) | 6.69 (5.48, 8.18) *** | 12.55 (9.46, 16.66) *** | |
| Always | 331 (3.3) | 70.1 (63.2, 76.2) | 10.83 (9.17, 12.89) *** | 22.79 (17.85, 29.10) *** | |
Note: Boldface indicates statistical significance (*p<0.05; **p<0.01; ***p<0.001) compared to the ref groups.
Subjects with missing data for any sociodemographic variables were omitted from the analysis.
The prevalence ratio was computed by conducting multivariable-adjusted logistic regression analyses. Two separate analyses were conducted: one analysis was conducted for sociodemographic variables that included age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, income, and region in the model; the other analysis was conducted for hearing-related variables, which included corresponding hearing variable plus above sociodemographic variables in the model.
The participants who reported both “deaf or had serious difficulty hearing” and “Excellent” or “Good” or “A little trouble hearing” were excluded from this analysis.
Northeast region includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Midwest region includes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; South region includes Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; West region includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
NHIS, National Health Interview Survey; PR, prevalence ratio.