TABLE 4—
Hearing Health Care Use among Participants with Various Hearing Impairment Outcomes: Beaver Dam Offspring Study, 2003–2005
| Variable | No. | Hearing Test Last 5 Years, No. (%) | Ever Aid Use, No. (%) | Current Aid Use, No. (%) |
| Mild hearing impairment (PTA > 25 and ≤ 40 dB HL) | 259 | 123 (48.1) | 24 (9.3) | 10 (3.9) |
| Moderate to severe hearing impairment (PTA > 40 dB HL) | 142 | 102 (72.3) | 49 (34.5) | 32 (22.5) |
| Unilateral hearing loss (PTA > 25 dB HL) | 209 | 96 (46.2) | 15 (7.2) | 4 (1.9) |
| Bilateral hearing loss (PTA > 25 dB HL) | 192 | 129 (68.3) | 58 (30.2) | 38 (19.8) |
| Word recognition (Quiet) < 80% | 260 | 105 (41.3) | 26 (10.0) | 18 (6.9) |
| Word recognition (CM) < 70% | 1806 | 621 (35.0) | 70 (3.9) | 37 (2.1) |
| Hearing handicap | 545 | 265 (49.8) | 75 (13.8) | 47 (8.6) |
| Self-reported hearing loss | 1458 | 619 (43.5) | 90 (6.2) | 54 (3.7) |
| Self-rated hearing: fair, poor | 516 | 283 (56.7) | 79 (15.3) | 47 (9.1) |
| Talked to a doctor about hearing problem | 697 | 360 (53.7) | 61 (8.8) | 37 (5.3) |
Note. CM = competing message; HL = hearing loss; PTA = pure-tone average. Percentages may not match exactly because of a small amount of missing hearing health care data.