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- Title
Opportunistic hearing screening in elderly inpatients.
- Authors
Ramdoo, Krishan; Bowen, Jordan; Dale, Oliver T.; Corbridge, Rogan; Chatterjee, Apurba; Gosney, Margot A.
- Abstract
Objective: To determine the prevalence of occult hearing loss in elderly inpatients, to evaluate feasibility of opportunistic hearing screening and to determine subsequent provision of hearing aids. Materials and methods: Subjects (>65 years) were recruited from five elderly care wards. Hearing loss was detected by a ward-based hearing screen comprising patient-reported assessment of hearing disability and a whisper test. Subjects failing the whisper test or reporting hearing difficulties were offered formal audiological assessment. Results: Screening was performed on 51 patients aged between 70 and 95 years. Of the patients, 21 (41%) reported hearing loss and 16 (31%) failed the whisper test. A total of 37 patients (73%) were referred for audiological assessment with 17 (33%) found to have aidable hearing loss and 11 were fitted with hearing aids (22%). Discussion: This study highlights the high prevalence of occult hearing loss in elderly inpatients. Easy two-step screening can accurately identify patients with undiagnosed deafness resulting in significant proportions receiving hearing aids.
- Publication
SAGE Open Medicine, 2014, Vol 2, p1
- ISSN
2050-3121
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1177/2050312114528171