Johnson Nan E
Department of Sociology, Agricultural Experiment Station, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1111, USA.
J Rural Health. 2004 Spring;20(2):136-41. doi: 10.1111/j.1748-0361.2004.tb00020.x.
No previous studies compare the prevalence of physiological hearing loss among older adults by nonmetro/metro residence. Also, there is little information on their relative successes in accommodating hearing loss with a hearing aid.
This study sought to bridge these gaps by analyzing the 8,222 respondents to Wave 1 (1993-1994) of the national Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old (AHEAD) Survey.
Respondents were classified into 4 categories of hearing status: (1) physiologically normal hearing; and physiologically abnormal hearing with (2) full accommodation of lost hearing with a hearing aid, (3) partial accommodation, and (4) no hearing aid. A multinomial logistic regression was used to predict the odds of having any of the 3 statuses of physiologically abnormal hearing rather than normal hearing.
Nonmetro residents had the same odds as metro residents of having no residual hearing loss when a hearing aid was worn (versus having physiologically normal hearing). But nonmetro residents had a much greater risk than their metro counterparts of having a hearing loss but no hearing aid or a residual hearing loss even when wearing an aid. The association of nonmetro residence with either of these latter hearing-loss statuses was greater than that of age, a more traditionally acknowledged hearing-risk factor.
Future studies should add nonmetro residence to the list of risk factors for negative hearing outcomes, especially since the percentage of elderly nonmetro residents is expected to grow over the next 2 decades.
以往尚无研究比较非都市/都市地区老年人生理性听力损失的患病率。此外，关于他们在使用助听器适应听力损失方面的相对成功率的信息也很少。
本研究旨在通过分析全国最年长者资产与健康动态调查（AHEAD）第一轮（1993 - 1994年）的8222名受访者来填补这些空白。
受访者被分为4类听力状况：（1）生理听力正常；以及生理听力异常，其中包括（2）使用助听器完全适应听力损失，（3）部分适应，和（4）未使用助听器。使用多项逻辑回归来预测出现3种生理听力异常状况而非正常听力状况的几率。
在佩戴助听器时，非都市居民与都市居民出现无残余听力损失（相对于生理听力正常）的几率相同。但与都市居民相比，非都市居民即使佩戴了助听器，出现听力损失但未使用助听器或有残余听力损失的风险也要大得多。非都市居住与后两种听力损失状况中任何一种的关联都大于年龄这一传统上公认的听力风险因素。
未来的研究应将非都市居住纳入听力不良结果的风险因素清单，特别是考虑到预计在未来20年中老年非都市居民的比例将会增加。
