Temporal trends (2008-2017) in serious hearing loss: Findings from a nationally representative sample of older Americans

Background: Hearing loss is a source of great public health concern. Previous research showed a decline in the prevalence of hearing loss among older adults. However, it is unclear whether this trend persists in recent years. Methods: The purpose of this study was to investigate the temporal trend in prevalence of hearing loss among older Americans (age 65+) between 2008 and 2017. To this end, we conducted a secondary analysis of 10 cross-sectional surveys: the 2008-2017 annual American community surveys (ACS). The ACS were conducted by the US Census through mail, internet, phone, and in-person meetings. ACS includes Americans aged 65+ living in the community and in group quarters such as nursing homes (n = 5,359,651). Annual response rates were above 89%. Whether the participant has hearing problems is assessed based on response to the ACS question "Is this person deaf or does he/she have serious difficulty hearing?". Results: During the decade 2008-2017, the prevalence of serious hearing loss in the older American population (65+) decreased from 16.3 to 14.8% (p < 0.001), indicating an 11% decline after adjustments for sex and race. When age was taken into account, this was attenuated to a 4% decline. Substantial sex differences were observed: Among females aged 65+, the age-race adjusted odds of serious hearing loss declined 10% over the decade, while males experienced a 2% increase. Conclusions: Older females had a substantial decrease in the prevalence of self-reported serious hearing loss between 2008 and 2017. Future research is needed to understand the cause of this trend.