Hearing Examination of Adults (20 to 69 Years Old) in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 1999–2004

Details

• Personal Author:
  Hoffman HJ ; Themann, Christa L.
• Description:
  Hearing loss severe enough to interfere with the understanding of normal speech is experienced by several million people in the U.S. Previous estimates, derived mainly from health interview surveys, suggest that at least 10 percent (20 million) of adults have sufficient trouble hearing to impact their quality of life. Hearing loss may be caused by several environmental factors (principally noise exposure) and, as well, many genetic factors may cause or contribute to hearing loss in combination with environmental factors. The NCHS has conducted a unique series of health and nutrition examination surveys since the early 1960s. The health exams are conducted in mobile centers (four trailers linked together) that are transported to randomly selected communities to ensure a standardized environment for obtaining high-quality data. From 1999 to 2004, NHANES included pure-tone, air-conduction hearing threshold measurements in each ear at .5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8 kHz from a nationally representative sample of civilian, non-institutionalized adults, 20 to 69 years old. These data provide the first national estimates of adult hearing loss based on thresholds in nearly 30 years. The methodology for the NHANES hearing examination will be explained and preliminary findings presented. The importance of these data for tracking Healthy People 2010 objectives will be discussed. Implications for directing efforts in hearing loss prevention and monitoring progress in prevention will also be addressed. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Age Factors Aging Environmental Health Genetics Hearing Hearing Loss Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced Noise Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety Surveys And Questionnaires

  More +
• Keywords:
  Age-factors Age-groups Environmental-factors Genetic-factors Health-surveys Hearing-impairment Hearing-loss Hearing-protection Hearing-threshold Noise-exposure Noise-induced-hearing-loss Sampling

  More +
• ISSN:
  1083-7388
• Publisher:
  National Hearing Conservation Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary ; Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DART - Division of Applied Research and Technology
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  24
• Volume:
  22
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20029049
• Citation:
  Spectrum 2005 Feb; 22(Suppl 1):24
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2005
• NORA Priority Area:
  Disease and Injury: Hearing Loss
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Spectrum: the National Hearing Conservation Association newsletter
• Supplement:
  1
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:bb725a16ea16626cc3c637b265b77532ae5a49572fd92907de088f544f8b884c94b39c110f2fa898dd79883dcb5385da95a684dd49bb0e80d7a4ffacdb7a9443
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/190121/cdc_190121_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 398.87 KB ]