• Jae W Hong, Ju H Jeon, Cheol R Ku, Jung H Noh, Hyung J Yoo, and Dong-Jun Kim.
• From the Department of Internal Medicine, Ilsan-Paik Hospital, College of Medicine, Inje University, Koyang, Gyeonggi-do (JWH, JHN, D-JK); Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Inje University College of Medicine, Seoul Paik Hospital (J-HJ); Endocrinology, Yonsei University College of Medicine (CRK); and Department of Internal Medicine, Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University, Seoul,, Republic of Korea (HJY).
• Medicine (Baltimore). 2015 Mar 1; 94 (10): e611e611.

AbstractThere are few studies that have used audiometric testing to gauge the demographic characteristics and associated risk factors for hearing loss at the national-level. Here, we investigated the weighted prevalence and associated factors of hearing impairment in 16,040 Korean adult population. Subjects completed audiometric test and laboratory examination as part of the data from The 2010-2012 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). In our respective study, the overall weighted (n = 33,762,584) prevalence of mild hearing impairment among the Korean adult population was 20.5% (95% clearance [CI], 19.6-21.6), whereas moderate-to-profound hearing impairment was 9.2% (95% CI, 8.6-9.9). The weighted prevalence of mild hearing impairment in younger adults (19-39 years' old) was 4.4% (3.5-5.5), in middle-age adults (40-64 years), it was 21.1% (19.8-22.5), and in older adults (≥65 years' old), it was 69.7% (67.8-71.6). Logistic regression analyses were performed for low/mid frequency or high-frequency mild hearing impairment with age, sex, tobacco use, heavy alcohol use, educational background, occupational noise exposure, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, total serum cholesterol, and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <60 mL/min/1.73m² as covariates. The analyses revealed independent correlations between increased age, tobacco use, education, hypertension, and eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73m², and low/mid frequency and high frequency mild hearing impairment. High frequency mild hearing impairment was positively correlated with male sex, diabetes, and an increase in total serum cholesterol. Taken together, hearing impairment in Korea is highly prevalent with approximately one-fifth of Korean adult reporting mild hearing impairment. This study suggests that individuals with cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, smoking, increased serum cholesterol, or decreased eGFR are at particular risk of developing hearing impairment. As such, these groups may benefit from hearing loss screening in addition to those groups typically considered to be of elevated risk including geriatrics, those of low socioeconomic status, and those with considerable occupational noise exposure.

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