[Comparing audiological evaluation and screening: a study on presbycusis].

Given the high prevalence of presbycusis and the damage it brings about, a screening test can be useful in the identification of hearing loss in primary care. To estimate the prevalence of hearing loss in a representative sample of elderly people living at Butantan using an audiological screening method (questionnaire) and a basic audiological evaluation; to compare the results of the two kinds of evaluations, checking the validity of this tool for hearing loss screening. Cross sectional descriptive study. 200 individuals (above 60 years old, both genders) were randomly selected to undergo audiological screening (questionnaire). Another randomly selected group encompassed 100 individuals who were submitted to a set of audiological tests. Then, we compared the results from the two methods. There were no statistically significant associations between the questionnaire and the degree of hearing loss of the patients. The prevalence of hearing loss in our sample was of 56% in the screening and of 95% when checked by the audiological evaluation. Therefore, screening was not proven valid to assess hearing when compared to audiological evaluation.