Johns Hopkins School of Nursing.
Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health.
Otol Neurotol. 2021 Feb 1;42(2):e111-e113. doi: 10.1097/MAO.0000000000002931.
To estimate the national prevalence of asymmetric hearing among adults through applying two distinct audiometric criteria.
National cross-sectional survey.
Ambulatory examination centers within the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
Non-institutionalized adults in the United States from the 2001 to 2012 cycles of NHANES aged 20 years and older with pure tone audiometric and tympanometric data (n = 6,190).
Standardized protocol for pure tone audiometry and tympanometry.
Proportion of asymmetric hearing according to two distinct audiometric criteria. One criterion (American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery [AAO-HNS]) specifies asymmetry as a difference between pure tone averages (PTA) greater than 15 dB, and the other (Veterans Affairs [VA]) specifies asymmetry as a difference greater than/equal to 20 dB across two contiguous frequencies or 10 dB across three contiguous frequencies. Analyses included sampling weights to account for the epidemiologic survey's complex sampling design.
Using a definition from the AAO-HNS, overall prevalence was 2.77 and 9.46% when calculating the PTA with 0.5 to 4 kHz and 4 to 8 kHz, respectively. In contrast, through a working definition used within the VA, overall prevalence was 25.05% across 0.5 to 8 kHz. Estimates differed across sex and age, with men and older age cohorts exhibiting higher prevalence.
A nationally-representative sample of US adults indicates higher prevalence of asymmetric hearing among men and older adult cohorts. There is currently no standard audiometric criterion for defining asymmetry, and prevalence estimates vary markedly depending on which audiometric criteria is used. Given the potentially high prevalence of asymmetry depending on criterion, clinicians should also consider other supplementary clinical data when recommending medical referral.
应用两种不同的听力测试标准，估计成年人的非对称听力的全国流行率。
全国性横断面调查。
国家健康和营养检查调查（NHANES）中的门诊检查中心。
来自 NHANES 2001 年至 2012 年周期的年龄在 20 岁及以上、有纯音听力和鼓室图数据的非住院成年人（n=6190）。
纯音听力和鼓室图的标准化方案。
根据两种不同的听力测试标准，非对称听力的比例。一个标准（美国耳鼻喉科学院-头颈外科学会[AAO-HNS]）规定，当纯音平均值（PTA）之间的差异大于 15dB 时，为不对称；另一个标准（退伍军人事务部[VA]）规定，当两个连续频率之间的差异大于/等于 20dB 或三个连续频率之间的差异大于 10dB 时，为不对称。分析包括抽样权重，以考虑到流行病学调查的复杂抽样设计。
使用 AAO-HNS 的定义，当计算 0.5 至 4kHz 和 4 至 8kHz 的 PTA 时，总体患病率分别为 2.77%和 9.46%。相比之下，通过 VA 内使用的工作定义，0.5 至 8kHz 的总体患病率为 25.05%。估计值因性别和年龄而异，男性和年龄较大的队列患病率较高。
美国成年人的全国代表性样本表明，男性和年龄较大的成年队列的非对称听力患病率较高。目前，没有用于定义不对称的标准听力测试标准，患病率估计值根据所使用的听力测试标准而有很大差异。鉴于根据标准，不对称的患病率可能很高，因此临床医生在推荐医学转诊时，还应考虑其他补充临床数据。
