Epidemiology of hearing impairment in male subjects: a follow-up investigation.

As part of a longitudinal study 158 male subjects, with a median age of 60 years, range 52-72 years, were re-examined after a 3-year interval. No significant deterioration in their hearing sensitivity was demonstrated when measured by pure-tone or speech audiometry. The prevalence of hearing impairment is 39% based on the criterion greater than or equal to 20 dB HL averaged over 0.5, 1, 2, 3, and 4 kHz. This is similar to the prevalence of 36% experiencing hearing problems in daily listening situations.