Pauli Nina, Jönsson Radoslava, Stubbe Jennie, Redfors Ylva Dahlin
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Institute of Clinical Sciences Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg Gothenburg Sweden.
Region Västra Götaland, Frölunda Specialist Hospital SV Hospital Group Gothenburg Sweden.
Laryngoscope Investig Otolaryngol. 2025 Apr 25;10(2):e70141. doi: 10.1002/lio2.70141. eCollection 2025 Apr.
Immigrants face various challenges in the process of becoming established in a new country, one of which is language acquisition. A key factor for language acquisition is hearing function. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of hearing problems in immigrants in comparison with the general population. Furthermore, this study aimed to explore the risk factors for hearing problems as well as the relationships between self-reported hearing and audiometry results among immigrants.
The study was based on prospectively collected audiometry data and questions from the Swedish National Health Survey regarding health and hearing problems in immigrants attending language classes for immigrants in Sweden.
A total of 506 study participants were included, the mean age was 38 years, and the M:F ratio was 1:3. We found that 17% of the newcomers attending Swedish language education classes reported problems hearing a conversation and that more than half of the participants had hearing loss to some extent according to screening audiometry in this prospective cohort study. High-frequency hearing loss and worse perceived general health were the most important factors related to reporting hearing problems.
Compared to those of the general population, perceived hearing problems were 1.6 times more common among all immigrants and twice as common for immigrants above the age of 44. Audiometric screening should be offered to immigrants to detect hearing problems to facilitate language acquisition and social integration.Level of Evidence: 1b.
移民在融入新国家的过程中面临各种挑战，其中之一是语言习得。语言习得的一个关键因素是听力功能。本研究的目的是调查移民中听力问题的患病率，并与普通人群进行比较。此外，本研究旨在探讨听力问题的风险因素以及移民自我报告的听力与听力测试结果之间的关系。
该研究基于前瞻性收集的听力测试数据以及瑞典国家健康调查中有关在瑞典参加移民语言课程的移民的健康和听力问题的提问。
总共纳入了506名研究参与者，平均年龄为38岁，男女比例为1:3。我们发现，在参加瑞典语言教育课程的新移民中，17%的人报告在听对话时有问题，并且在这项前瞻性队列研究中，根据筛查听力测试，超过一半的参与者有某种程度的听力损失。高频听力损失和较差的总体健康感知是与报告听力问题相关的最重要因素。
与普通人群相比，所有移民中感知到的听力问题的发生率是普通人群的1.6倍，44岁以上移民的发生率是普通人群的两倍。应该为移民提供听力测试，以检测听力问题，促进语言习得和社会融合。证据水平：1b。
