U.S. Population Data on Hearing Loss, Trouble Hearing, and Hearing-Device Use in Adults: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2011–12, 2015–16, and 2017–20

Abstract

The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data on audiometric hearing loss, self-reported trouble hearing, and the use of hearing aids and assistive listening devices (ALDs) for the three most recent surveys (2011–12, 2015–16, and 2017–20) were analyzed for adults ranging in age from 20 to 80-plus years. Complete audiograms were available for a total of 8,795 adults. The prevalence of hearing loss, measured audiometrically and self-reported, is provided for males and females by age decade. Logistic-regression analyses identified variables affecting the odds of having an audiometrically defined hearing loss or self-reported trouble hearing. As in previous reports, males were more likely than females to have audiometric hearing loss and the prevalence of hearing loss increased steadily with advancing age. The same trends were observed for self-reported hearing difficulty, although the effects of age and sex were smaller for self-reported trouble hearing compared to audiometric hearing loss. The agreement between the audiometric classification of hearing loss severity and the amount of trouble reported on the self-report measure was moderate ( r = 0.61). The prevalence of hearing-aid and ALD use differed for males and females of the same age, females generally using these devices less frequently than males, but both showing increased prevalence of device use with advancing age. Unmet hearing-healthcare need, defined as the percentage of those with identified hearing loss or trouble hearing who were not current hearing-aid users or had never tried hearing aids or ALDs, was about 85%.