Hearing loss is quite common among middle-aged people, an Australian study finds.
An Australian study examined 1,485 parents/guardians aged 30–59 and found that 4.9% had a bilateral hearing loss of 25 dB or more and 6.3% had a unilateral hearing loss of 25 dB or more.
Bilateral high-frequency hearing loss was more common than low-frequency hearing loss.
Men vs. women
The study also found that age increased the risk of hearing loss and that men were more likely to have bilateral high-frequency hearing loss than women.
The study also found that 27.3% of the participants had a bilateral hearing threshold of 15 dB or more, while 23.8% had a unilateral hearing threshold of that 15 dB or more.
The study concluded that both slight (>15 dB) and mild (>25 dB) hearing loss show high and rising prevalence in middle age.
The study, “High prevalence of slight and mild hearing loss across mid-life: a cross-sectional national Australian study”, was published in the Journal Public Health.
Sources: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov and Public Health
