Ward J A, Lord S R, Williams P, Anstey K
Aged Care Services, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, NSW.
Med J Aust. 1993 Sep 20;159(6):382-4. doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1994.tb126542.x.
(i) To describe the prevalence of self-reported hearing impairment and level of hearing aid use in women aged 65 years and over living in the community; (ii) to provide comparison findings from the National Health Survey and the Survey of Disability and Ageing undertaken by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Cross-sectional study of a large community population.
Conducted as part of the Randwick Falls and Fractures Study, in Randwick a surburban area in eastern Sydney.
Four hundred and ninety-six women aged between 65 and 99 years (mean age, 74.6 years) took part in the study. The sample was representative of the population from which it was drawn.
We found a higher level of hearing difficulty than the levels reported in the Australian Bureau of Statistics surveys for women of comparative ages, which may reflect differences in the questions posed. The proportions with a hearing aid in the Randwick study and the Survey of Disability and Ageing were very similar (7.1% and 7.3% respectively). Of the one-third of the Randwick sample who reported a hearing difficulty, only half had been referred for audiometry and a quarter had been prescribed an aid. Only slightly more than a third of those who received an aid were regularly wearing it. Among the women with hearing difficulties, not using an aid was not associated with age, cognitive status or subjective health. There was a trend suggesting that those who did not use an aid had increased use of community support services. Women who had not received assistance with their hearing impairment had more difficulty shopping and relied more on family members.
Almost two-thirds of people prescribed a hearing aid were not wearing it regularly, denying themselves proven benefits in communication, social involvement and life satisfaction. The prescribing of these unused aids represents a huge waste of health resources. A program to increase hearing aid use by hearing impaired people may reduce the waste of health resources and the need for community support services. Such a program may greatly increase the life satisfaction for this very large group of disabled older people.
（i）描述社区中65岁及以上老年女性自我报告的听力障碍患病率及助听器使用水平；（ii）提供来自澳大利亚统计局进行的国民健康调查以及残疾与老龄化调查的对比结果。
对一大群社区人口进行的横断面研究。
作为兰德威克跌倒与骨折研究的一部分开展，位于悉尼东部的一个郊区兰德威克。
496名年龄在65至99岁之间（平均年龄74.6岁）的女性参与了该研究。该样本代表了其从中抽取的人群。
我们发现，与澳大利亚统计局对年龄相仿女性的调查所报告的水平相比，听力困难程度更高，这可能反映了所提问题的差异。兰德威克研究与残疾与老龄化调查中佩戴助听器的比例非常相似（分别为7.1%和7.3%）。在兰德威克样本中报告有听力困难的三分之一人群中，只有一半被转介进行听力测定，四分之一被开了助听器。在接受助听器的人群中，只有略多于三分之一的人经常佩戴。在有听力困难的女性中，不使用助听器与年龄、认知状况或主观健康无关。有一个趋势表明，不使用助听器的人对社区支持服务的使用有所增加。未在听力障碍方面获得帮助的女性购物更困难，且更依赖家庭成员。
几乎三分之二被开了助听器的人没有经常佩戴，从而使自己无法从已证实的沟通、社会参与和生活满意度提升中受益。这些未使用的助听器的开具是对卫生资源的巨大浪费。一项提高听力受损者助听器使用量的计划可能会减少卫生资源的浪费以及对社区支持服务的需求。这样一个计划可能会极大地提高这一庞大残疾老年人群体的生活满意度。
