University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
J Aging Health. 2014 Mar;26(2):231-49. doi: 10.1177/0898264313513610. Epub 2013 Dec 15.
To report the frequency of hearing impairment among vision rehabilitation clients, and to identify patterns of hearing service and aid use.
In the Vision-Hearing Project, 300 participants (65+ years) completed interviews and a hearing test at low-vision clinics. Visual impairment was defined as visual acuity <20/40 (better eye) wearing glasses if owned, and hearing impairment as average pure-tone air conduction threshold >25 dB hearing level (HL) over four frequencies (500, 1000, 2000, 4000 Hz, better ear). Dual sensory impairment (DSI) was defined as presence of both impairments.
Bilateral hearing impairment was identified in 79.7% of participants and DSI in 62.1%. Only 59.8% of hearing impaired participants owned hearing aids and 33.8% reported low use (<1 hr/day).
Four in five low-vision clients experience hearing impairment, and many have unmet needs. New models of sensory assessment that take account of hearing and vision are needed to support early detection and timely rehabilitation for DSI.
报告视力康复患者听力障碍的频率，并确定听力服务和助听设备的使用模式。
在视觉-听力项目中，300 名（65 岁以上）参与者在低视力诊所完成了访谈和听力测试。视力障碍的定义为戴眼镜时（如果有）的最佳眼视力<20/40，听力障碍的定义为四个频率（500、1000、2000、4000Hz，较好耳）的平均纯音空气传导阈值>25 分贝听力级。双重感觉障碍（DSI）定义为同时存在两种障碍。
79.7%的参与者存在双侧听力障碍，62.1%存在 DSI。只有 59.8%的听力受损参与者拥有助听器，33.8%的人报告使用频率低（<1 小时/天）。
五分之四的低视力患者存在听力障碍，许多人有未满足的需求。需要新的感觉评估模型，同时考虑听力和视力，以支持 DSI 的早期发现和及时康复。
