Table 2.
Prevalence and Correlates of Hearing Loss in Adults Aged 70 Years and Older, National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey 2005–2006
| Hearing Loss >25 db in Speech Frequency PTA† |
Multivariate Analyses With Hearing Loss as a Continuous Variable†,‡ |
|||||
| Prevalence§(95% CI) | Univariate OR‖(95% CI) | Multivariate OR¶ (95% CI) | Standard PTA (0.5–2 kHz),β (95% CI)# | Speech Frequency PTA(0.5–4 kHz), β (95% CI)# | High-Frequency PTA(3–8 kHz), β (95% CI)# | |
| Demographic | ||||||
| Age (y) | ||||||
| 70–74 | 45.6 (39.3–51.8) | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference |
| 75–79 | 67.6 (58.8–76.3) | 2.49*** (1.79–-3.46) | 2.65*** (1.86–3.78) | 6.84*** (4.23–9.45) | 7.37*** (5.13–9.61) | 8.61*** (4.95–12.3) |
| 80–84 | 78.2 (73.0–83.4) | 4.28*** (3.36–5.45) | 4.30*** (3.06–6.03) | 9.84*** (7.48–12.2) | 10.8*** (8.26–13.3) | 13.2*** (9.68–16.6) |
| ≥85 | 80.6 (72.6–88.7) | 4.97*** (2.69–9.20) | 5.44*** (2.74–10.8) | 16.6*** (12.5–20.7) | 16.1*** (12.7–19.5) | 15.4*** (11.8–19.1) |
| Sex | ||||||
| Female | 58.2 (50.7–65.6) | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference |
| Male | 69.8 (63.6–75.9) | 1.66** (1.20–2.30) | 1.67* (1.09–2.55) | — | 4.23* (0.90–7.56) | 11.5*** (7.50–15.5) |
| Race | ||||||
| Non-Hispanic white | 64.4 (58.1–70.8) | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference |
| Non-Hispanic black | 43.3 (31.1–55.5) | 0.42** (0.25–0.71) | 0.32*** (0.19–0.53) | -3.49* (−6.60 to −0.38) | −5.84*** (−8.58 to −3.10) | −11.1*** (−13.9 to −8.23) |
| Mexican or other Hispanic | 65.1 (50.0–80.2) | 1.03 (0.51–2.07) | — | — | — | — |
| Other | 74.6 (46.1–100) | 1.62 (0.32–8.14) | — | — | — | — |
| Education | ||||||
| < 12th grade | 70.1 (62.0–78.2) | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference |
| High school graduate | 62.3 (52.5–72.1) | 0.70 (0.44–1.13) | — | — | — | −3.07* (−6.00 to −0.14) |
| Some college or more | 58.5 (52.3–64.6) | 0.60* (0.38–0.94) | — | — | −2.22* (−4.39 to −0.06) | −5.06** (−8.39 to −1.74) |
| Household income | ||||||
| <$20 K/y | 69.2 (62.5–76.0) | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference |
| $20K to <$45K | 64.8 (57.7–71.9) | 0.82 (0.57–1.17) | — | — | — | — |
| ≥$45K | 57.1 (48.3–66.0) | 0.59* (0.39–0.91) | — | −2.92* (−5.48 to −0.36) | −2.43* (−4.62 to −0.23) | — |
| Refused/don’t know | 47.5 (23.6–71.3) | 0.40 (0.15–1.11) | 0.38* (0.15–0.98) | — | — | — |
| Noise exposure | ||||||
| Firearm use | ||||||
| Yes | 68.2 (60.9–75.5) | 1.44* (1.01–2.05) | — | — | — | 2.65* (0.12–5.19) |
| No | 59.9 (53.1–66.7) | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference |
| Occupational exposure | ||||||
| Yes | 72.2 (65.0–79.4) | 1.87* (1.07–3.28) | — | — | — | — |
| No | 58.2 (49.4–66.9) | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference |
| Leisure exposure | ||||||
| Yes | 72.6 (66.6–78.6) | 1.65** (1.19–2.29) | — | — | — | 3.87* (0.81–6.93) |
| No | 61.6 (55.6–67.7) | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference |
| Medical history | ||||||
| Diabetes | ||||||
| Yes | 64.9 (56.6–73.1) | 1.10 (0.71–1.70) | — | — | — | — |
| No | 62.7 (56.1–69.3) | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference |
| Smoking | ||||||
| Never | 62.6 (54.2–71.1) | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference |
| Former | 64.4 (58.0–70.8) | 1.08 (0.69–1.68) | — | — | — | — |
| Current | 58.2 (43.0–73.3) | 0.83 (0.47–1.45) | — | — | — | — |
| Hypertension | ||||||
| Yes | 60.4 (54.6–66.2) | 0.79 (0.57–1.11) | — | — | — | — |
| No | 65.7 (57.9–73.6) | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference |
| Stroke | ||||||
| Yes | 69.2 (53.2–85.2) | 1.34 (0.69–2.59) | — | — | — | — |
| No | 62.7 (57.4–67.9) | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference |
Notes: CI = confidence interval; PTA = pure tone average.
Asterisks denote level of statistical significance: *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001; — not significant.
Multivariate linear regression was used to examine the association of various factors with hearing levels (speech frequency PTA in the better ear treated as a continuous dependent variable) after adjustment for all covariates in Table 2.
Prevalence values indicate the weighted percentage of adults with hearing loss (speech frequency PTA >25 dB in the better ear).
Univariate odds ratios indicate the odds of hearing loss relative to the designated reference group.
Multivariate odds ratios indicate the odds of hearing loss relative to the designated reference group after adjusting for all covariates in Table 2.
β coefficients indicate the expected change in hearing levels (in dB) for the factor relative to the designated reference group. Positive β coefficients indicate worse (greater) hearing loss associated with the studied factor, whereas negative βs indicate better hearing.