Prevalence of hearing loss in seniors increases with age

Older adults have a high prevalence of hearing loss, which increases with age, reaching 96.2 percent for those aged 90 years and older, according to a study published online July 28 in JAMA Network Open.

Nicholas S. Reed, Ph.D., from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, and colleagues estimated the prevalence of hearing loss and hearing aid use by age and demographic covariates in a sample of adults aged 71 years and older from the 2021 National Health Aging and Trends Study.

The researchers found that an estimated 65.3 percent of adults aged 71 years and older had at least some degree of hearing loss (mild, moderate, and severe for 37.0, 24.1, and 4.2 percent, respectively). White, male, lower-income, and lower education attainment subpopulations had a higher prevalence, and prevalence also increased with age, with hearing loss in 96.2 percent of adults aged 90 years or older. Only 29.2 percent of those with hearing loss used hearing aids, with Black and Hispanic and low-income individuals having lower estimates.

"These robust estimates from a nationally representative study that oversamples older adults are higher than previous estimates and provide updated metrics for resource planning related to ongoing and future hearing policy initiatives," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.