Hearing threshold levels and hearing loss among people in Zhejiang, China: a population-based cross-sectional study

Abstract

Hearing loss (≥26 dB threshold in the better ear), as a common chronic condition in humans, is increasingly gaining attention. Relevant research in China is relatively scarce, so we conduct a population-based study to investigate the prevalence of hearing loss among age groups, genders and ears in Zhejiang province, China, from September 2016 to June 2018.Study designPopulation-based cross-sectional studyParticipantsA total of 3754 participants aged 18–98 years and living in Zhejiang province, China.Outcome measuresPure-tone audiometric thresholds were measured at frequencies of 0.125–8 kHz for each subject. All participants were asked to complete a structured questionnaire, in the presence of a healthcare official.ResultsThe prevalence of speech-frequency and high-frequency hearing loss was 27.9% and 42.9%, respectively, in Zhejiang. There were significant differences in auditory thresholds at most frequencies among the age groups, genders (male vs female: 31.6%vs24.1% at speech frequency; 48.9% vs 36.8% at high frequency) and ears. In addition to the common factors affecting both types of hearing loss, a significant correlation was found between personal income and speech-frequency hearing loss (OR=0.69, 95% CI 0.52 to 0.92), and between hyperlipidaemia and high-frequency hearing loss (OR=1.45, 95% CI 1.02 to 2.07).ConclusionThe prevalence of hearing loss was high among people living in Zhejiang, particularly males, and in the left ear. Moreover, hearing thresholds increased with age. Several lifestyle and environment factors, which can be influenced by awareness and education, were significantly associated with hearing loss.

Association between Leucocyte Telomere Length and Risk of Hearing Loss in the General Population: A Case-Control Study in Zhejiang Province, China

“…This may be due to the formation of 8-oxodeoxyguanine, a key oxidation product of guanine, which can lead to DNA replication mismatch. Additionally, it is also worth noting that, although hearing loss is higher in males in the general population [22], telomere shortening has a greater impact on hearing loss in females (Table A1). It indicates that those factors (RTL, chronic conditions and cadmium) affecting hearing loss do not play exactly the same role in males and females.…”

“…Each participant was evaluated for hearing thresholds between 0.125 and 8 kHz (0.125, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8 kHz) in a soundproof booth with background noise of less than 20 dB (A). A detailed protocol for audiometry has been described previously [22]. In this study, hearing loss was defined as the pure-tone average (PTA) of the speech frequencies (0.5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz) of ≥26 dB in either ear [23,24].…”

Increased atherogenic index in the general hearing loss population

“…Each participant was evaluated for hearing thresholds between 0.125 and 8 kHz (0.125, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8 kHz) over an intensity range of −10 to 110 dB in a soundproof booth with a background noise of less than 20 dB(A). All facilities were calibrated before use, and we conducted the procedure by beginning at 1 kHz, continuing to higher test frequencies and then returning to 1 kHz, followed by testing lower frequencies, and the same test method has been described in detail in previous study [ 28 ]. Presently, hearing loss was defined as the pure-tone average (PTA) of the speech frequencies (0.5, 1, 2 and 4 kHz) of ≥26 dB in the better ear [ 4 ].…”

Prevalence and incidence of hearing impairment among adults: a 13-year follow-up study

“…The prevalence of HI has also been reported in the Blue Mountains Hearing Study (BMHS) among Australian adults aged 49 years and older (Gopinath et al, 2009) and in a Norwegian study (Borchgrevink, Tambs, & Hoffman, 2005). More recently, larger studies examining the prevalence of HI have been conducted in China, the Netherlands and Germany (Homans et al, 2017;von Gablenz, Hoffmann, & Holube, 2017;Wang et al, 2019). Furthermore, in an older, Finnish population-based study, the prevalence of HI was analysed for different ages from 5 to 75 years (Uimonen, Huttunen, Jounio-Ervasti, & Sorri, 1999).…”