Table 1. Participant Baseline Characteristics.
| Characteristic | No. (%)a | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2-y Cohort | 5-y Cohort | 10-y Cohort | ||||
| Untreated Hearing Loss (n = 77 207) | No Hearing Loss (n = 77 207) | Untreated Hearing Loss (n = 22 426) | No Hearing Loss (n = 22 426) | Untreated Hearing Loss (n = 2364) | No Hearing Loss (n = 2364) | |
| Age, mean (SD) | 63.80 (9.74) | 63.79 (9.70) | 61.71 (9.22) | 61.70 (9.20) | 61.03 (9.30) | 61.05 (9.28) |
| Female | 37 309 (48.3) | 37 155 (48.1) | 10 792 (48.1) | 10 671 (47.6) | 1150 (48.6) | 1130 (47.8) |
| Race | ||||||
| Asian | 1707 (2.2) | 1626 (2.1) | 385 (1.7) | 352 (1.6) | 39 (1.6) | 34 (1.4) |
| Black | 4367 (5.7) | 4420 (5.7) | 1312 (5.9) | 1373 (6.1) | 144 (6.1) | 162 (6.9) |
| Hispanic | 3933 (5.1) | 4039 (5.2) | 1061 (4.7) | 1050 (4.7) | 89 (3.8) | 95 (4.0) |
| Unknown | 20 428 (26.5) | 20 452 (26.5) | 6282 (28.0) | 6389 (28.5) | 605 (25.6) | 642 (27.2) |
| White | 46 772 (60.6) | 46 670 (60.4) | 13 386 (59.7) | 13 262 (59.1) | 1487 (62.9) | 1431 (60.5) |
| Region | ||||||
| Midwest | 21 896 (28.4) | 21 951 (28.4) | 6903 (30.8) | 6796 (30.3) | 861 (36.4) | 830 (35.1) |
| Northeast | 14 536 (18.8) | 14 323 (18.6) | 3966 (17.7) | 3906 (17.4) | 418 (17.7) | 436 (18.4) |
| South | 31 820 (41.2) | 31 929 (41.4) | 9205 (41.0) | 9329 (41.6) | 882 (37.3) | 899 (38.0) |
| West | 8955 (11.6) | 9004 (11.7) | 2352 (10.5) | 2395 (10.7) | 203 (8.6) | 199 (8.4) |
| Net worth, $ | ||||||
| Unknown | 22 874 (29.6) | 22 951 (29.7) | 6978 (31.1) | 7137 (31.8) | 673 (28.5) | 718 (30.4) |
| <25 000 | 2771 (3.6) | 2707 (3.5) | 729 (3.3) | 682 (3.0) | 80 (3.4) | 77 (3.3) |
| 24 000-149 000 | 7610 (9.9) | 7447 (9.6) | 2038 (9.1) | 1998 (8.9) | 206 (8.7) | 185 (7.8) |
| 150 000-249 000 | 7678 (9.9) | 7815 (10.1) | 2047 (9.1) | 2043 (9.1) | 195 (8.2) | 193 (8.2) |
| 250 000-499 000 | 16 404 (21.2) | 16 564 (21.5) | 4745 (21.2) | 4738 (21.1) | 558 (23.6) | 560 (23.7) |
| ≥500 000 | 19 870 (25.7) | 19 723 (25.5) | 5889 (26.3) | 5828 (26.0) | 652 (27.6) | 631 (26.7) |
| Education | ||||||
| <12th grade | 231 (0.3) | 219 (0.3) | 39 (0.2) | 37 (0.2) | Masked datab | Masked datab |
| High school diploma | 14 647 (19.0) | 14 568 (18.9) | 3937 (17.6) | 3890 (17.3) | 380 (16.1) | 386 (16.3) |
| <Bachelor’s degree | 31 981 (41.4) | 32 166 (41.7) | 9139 (40.8) | 9072 (40.5) | 992 (42.0) | 965 (40.8) |
| ≥Bachelor’s degree | 12 068 (15.6) | 11 886 (15.4) | 3621 (16.1) | 3594 (16.0) | 444 (18.8) | 430 (18.2) |
| Unknown | 18 280 (23.7) | 18 368 (23.8) | 5690 (25.4) | 5833 (26.0) | <546 | <585 |
| Medicare | 24 028 (31.1) | 24 028 (31.1) | 6025 (26.9) | 6025 (26.9) | 755 (31.9) | 755 (31.9) |
| Baseline utilization, mean (SD) | ||||||
| Inpatient stays | 0.14 (0.47) | 0.14 (0.43) | 0.12 (0.42) | 0.12 (0.39) | 0.10 (0.34) | 0.10 (0.33) |
| Total inpatient, d | 0.79 (4.94) | 0.82 (4.30) | 0.61 (3.31) | 0.64 (3.22) | 0.54 (2.49) | 0.54 (2.36) |
| Outpatient encounters | 18.73 (18.18) | 18.63 (17.84) | 17.17 (16.07) | 17.13 (15.67) | 15.55 (14.35) | 14.91 (13.33) |
| ED visits | 0.32 (0.77) | 0.32 (0.75) | 0.27 (0.69) | 0.27 (0.66) | 0.24 (0.59) | 0.22 (0.54) |
| Medical costs, $ | 8311.24 (20 645.18) | 8479.90 (19 165.55) | 7418.90 (17 586.02) | 7536.63 (15 933.56) | 6365.09 (14 413.20) | 6272.95 (11 928.82) |
| Baseline comorbidities | ||||||
| Charlson Comorbidity Index, mean (SD) | 1.12 (1.71) | 1.12 (1.68) | 0.89 (1.48) | 0.90 (1.47) | 0.69 (1.24) | 0.68 (1.20) |
| Acute myocardial infarction, No. (%) | 324 (0.4) | 301 (0.4) | 87 (0.4) | 76 (0.3) | 13 (0.5) | 14 (0.6) |
| Depression | 8358 (10.8) | 8325 (10.8) | 2147 (9.6) | 2109 (9.4) | 201 (8.5) | 192 (8.1) |
| Dementia | 2104 (2.7) | 2189 (2.8) | 381 (1.7) | 411 (1.8) | 14 (0.6) | 18 (0.8) |
| Stroke | 1963 (2.5) | 1953 (2.5) | 466 (2.1) | 437 (1.9) | 35 (1.5) | 30 (1.3) |
| Mild cognitive impairment | 107 (0.1) | 113 (0.1) | Masked datab | Masked datab | Masked datab | Masked datab |
| Coronary artery disease | 8744 (11.3) | 8850 (11.5) | 2119 (9.4) | 2195 (9.8) | 208 (8.8) | 224 (9.5) |
Abbreviations: ASD, absolute standard difference; ED, emergency department.
a
Absolute standard difference was less than 10% for all comparisons.
b
Sample size masked owing to small sample size.