Trends in COSI responses associated with age and degree of hearing loss

Objective To investigate the relationships between age, gender, hearing loss and hearing asymmetry with reported hearing difficulties and perceived benefit from hearing aids. Design A retrospective service evaluation of patients' COSI responses. Study sample A non-sampled population (n = 995) attending audiology over two months. Results Clear trends were observed between hearing difficulties, age and hearing loss. A direct logistic regression model suggested that increasing age was the predominant cause of the most common hearing problems. Gender and hearing asymmetry had no significant effect on the difficulties reported. Hearing aids were effective for the most commonly reported problems. There were no significant associations between hearing aid benefit and age or degree of hearing loss. Patients with a mild hearing loss perceived at least equal benefit from hearing aids compared to those with greater degrees of loss. Conclusions The study demonstrated an effect of age on reported hearing problems over and above that expected due to peripheral hearing impairment, which may be a sign of wider auditory system decline. Elderly patients form the majority of the audiology patient population and their treatment requires more complex consideration than is suggested solely by the audiogram, irrespective of degree of hearing loss.