TY - JOUR
T1 - Prevalence of hearing impairment in an adult population in southern Taiwan
AU - Lin, Cheng Yu
AU - Yang, Yi Ching
AU - Guo, Yueliang Leon
AU - Wu, Chih Hsing
AU - Chang, Chih-Jen
AU - Wu, Jiunn Liang
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank Miss I-Hui Lin, Graduate Institute of Audiology and Speech Therapy, National Kaohsiung Normal University, for her assistance in this study. This study was supported by a grant from Tainan Municipal Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan.
PY - 2007/12
Y1 - 2007/12
N2 - The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of hearing impairment in a representative adult population in southern Taiwan and compare the results to those of similar studies in other countries. A stratified systematic cluster sample of 1140 residents, aged ≥20 years, of Tainan City was studied from 2001 to 2003. The test battery included otoscopy, pure-tone audiometry, and a questionnaire covering relevant personal, occupational, and family history. The hearing threshold level (HTL) was defined as the better ear pure-tone average (BPTA) (i.e. the average of hearing thresholds at frequencies 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz). The prevalence of hearing impairment was 21.4% (95% confidence interval: 19.3-23.7%) at BPTA ≥25 dB HTL. Middle ear disease was a significant risk factor for hearing impairment in addition to age and gender. The overall prevalence of hearing impairment may be higher in Taiwan (17.1%) than in western populations (11.5%), but differences in the definition of hearing impairment severity and variation in sex distribution among studies may account for this higher prevalence.
AB - The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of hearing impairment in a representative adult population in southern Taiwan and compare the results to those of similar studies in other countries. A stratified systematic cluster sample of 1140 residents, aged ≥20 years, of Tainan City was studied from 2001 to 2003. The test battery included otoscopy, pure-tone audiometry, and a questionnaire covering relevant personal, occupational, and family history. The hearing threshold level (HTL) was defined as the better ear pure-tone average (BPTA) (i.e. the average of hearing thresholds at frequencies 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz). The prevalence of hearing impairment was 21.4% (95% confidence interval: 19.3-23.7%) at BPTA ≥25 dB HTL. Middle ear disease was a significant risk factor for hearing impairment in addition to age and gender. The overall prevalence of hearing impairment may be higher in Taiwan (17.1%) than in western populations (11.5%), but differences in the definition of hearing impairment severity and variation in sex distribution among studies may account for this higher prevalence.
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U2 - 10.1080/14992020701448986
DO - 10.1080/14992020701448986
M3 - Article
C2 - 18049962
AN - SCOPUS:36749056406
SN - 1499-2027
VL - 46
SP - 732
EP - 737
JO - International Journal of Audiology
JF - International Journal of Audiology
IS - 12
ER -