The Prevalence of Hearing Impairment and Reported Hearing Disability among Adults in Great Britain

Abstract

Davis A C (MRC Institute of Hearing Research, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK). The prevalence of hearing impairment and reported hearing disability in adults in Great Britain. International Journal of Epidemiology 1989, 18: 911–917. Estimates for the prevalence of self-reported hearing disability and measured hearing impairment as a function of age in the adult population of Great Britain (GB) are reported from two 2-stage surveys. The main study was conducted in Cardiff, Glasgow, Nottingham and Southampton, with rigorous audiological assessment at the second stage. A supplementary study used a sample representative of GB with simplified domiciliary audiological assessments. In the main study, neither stage showed any gross bias arising from the particular cities chosen; the estimates from the first stage are free of bias arising from non-response. The estimates from the second stage are relatively free of bias arising from non-attendance. For the present purposes, defining a ‘significant’ level of hearing impairment as at least 25 dBHL averaged over the frequencies 0.5, 1, 2, 4 kHz, 16% of the adult population (17–80 years) have a bilateral, and about one in four a unilateral or bilateral, hearing impairment. About 10% of the adult population (aged 17+) report bilateral hearing difficulty in a quiet environment.