Elderly hearing loss Screening, Questionnaire Vs Audiometry

Hearing loss is common among the elderly and timely diagnosis can help improve the quality of life. This study tries to investigate if one simple question can be as effective as audiometry in detecting hearing loss. The current survey is an analytical cross-sectional study among patients attending to Ear-Nose-Throat clinics. 54% of subjects were male and 46% were female. Mean age was 68. 6±6. 9 years. 38% were medium، 32% poor، 26% good، and 4% very good، in a self report. 50% had sensory-neural، 18% mixed، and 22% conductive hearing loss، and also 10% were normal in audiometry. No statistically significant difference was found between self-report and audiometry. Therefore only with a single question it may be possible to identify the hearing loss in an elderly patient. Hence، with early diagnosis and treatment of this problem، we may improve the quality of life of the elderly and prevent further psychological problems.