Public Health Perspectives on Hearing Loss and Aging Outcomes: Preventive Care Utilization among Adults with Hearing Loss in the United States

Hearing loss (HL) can negatively impact patient–provider communication and limit access to health promotion information, which may lead to decreased preventive care utilization. Using data from the 2015 and 2018 National Health Interview Survey, we examined the association between perceived HL with and without hearing aid use with self-reported age-appropriate uptake of breast and colon cancer screening, and influenza and pneumococcal vaccination. In models adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics, access to care, and health status, people with HL had lower odds of receiving breast cancer screening (odds ratio [OR] = 0.83, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.72–0.96) and higher odds of receiving pneumococcal vaccination (OR = 1.11, 95% CI = 1.00–1.24) relative to those without HL. There were no differences in their colon cancer or influenza vaccination uptake. Compared with those without HL, people with HL who used hearing aids had increased odds of colon cancer screening and influenza and pneumococcal vaccination, while people with HL who did not use hearing aids were less likely to report cancer screening. Overall, Americans with untreated HL were less likely to report completing cancer screening. Hearing aid use may modify the association between HL and preventive care uptake. Screening for HL in primary care settings and communication trainings for providers may help reduce cancer screening disparities.     

Public Health Perspectives on Hearing Loss and Aging Outcomes: Association of Hearing Loss with Physical,Social, and Mental Activity Engagement

This article aims to evaluate a hearing loss intervention versus an aging education intervention on activity engagement in the Aging and Cognitive Health Evaluation in Elders pilot (ACHIEVE-P). Forty adults (70–84 years) with hearing loss recruited from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study and de novo participated. Participants were randomized 1:1 to a best practices hearing intervention or a successful aging intervention. Hearing was measured with pure-tone audiometry. The Community Healthy Activities Model Program for Seniors questionnaire measured self-reported time engaging in activities at baseline and 6-month follow-up. At baseline, greater hearing loss was associated with reduced time per week on mental activities (−3.0 hours per 10 dB of hearing loss, 95% confidence interval: −5.8, −0.2). Mental activity engagement increased (mean: +1.3 hours, SD = 6.6) for the hearing intervention group but decreased (mean: −1.1 hours, SD = 4.8) for the aging education group (Cohen''s d : 0.41). Hearing loss may be associated with reduced engagement in mental activities. Whether hearing loss treatment impacts activity will be studied in the full-scale ACHIEVE trial.     

Association of Skin Color, Race/Ethnicity, and Hearing Loss Among Adults in the USA

Epidemiologic studies of hearing loss in adults have demonstrated that the odds of hearing loss are substantially lower in black than in white individuals. The basis of this association is unknown. We hypothesized that skin pigmentation as a marker of melanocytic functioning mediates this observed association and that skin pigmentation is associated with hearing loss independent of race/ethnicity. We analyzed cross-sectional data from 1,258 adults (20–59 years) in the 2003–2004 cycle of the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey who had assessment of Fitzpatrick skin type and pure-tone audiometric testing. Audiometric thresholds in the worse hearing ear were used to calculate speech- (0.5–4 kHz) and high-frequency (3–8 kHz) pure-tone averages (PTA). Regression models were stratified by Fitzpatrick skin type or race/ethnicity to examine the association of each factor with hearing loss independent of the other. Models were adjusted for potential confounders (demographic, medical, and noise exposure covariates). Among all participants, race/ethnicity was associated with hearing thresholds (black participants with the best hearing followed by Hispanics and then white individuals), but these associations were not significant in analyses stratified by skin color. In contrast, in race-stratified analyses, darker-skinned Hispanics had better hearing than lighter-skinned Hispanics by an average of −2.5 dB hearing level (HL; 95% CI, −4.8 to −0.2) and −3.1 dB HL (95% CI, −5.3 to −0.8) for speech and high-frequency PTA, respectively. Associations between skin color and hearing loss were not significant in white and black participants. Our results demonstrate that skin pigmentation is independently associated with hearing loss in Hispanics and suggest that skin pigmentation as a marker of melanocytic functioning may mediate the strong association observed between race/ethnicity and hearing loss.     

Auditory Cortex Signs of Age-Related Hearing Loss

Age-related hearing loss, or presbyacusis, is a major public health problem that causes communication difficulties and is associated with diminished quality of life. Limited satisfaction with hearing aids, particularly in noisy listening conditions, suggests that central nervous system declines occur with presbyacusis and may limit the efficacy of interventions focused solely on improving audibility. This study of 49 older adults (M = 69.58, SD = 8.22 years; 29 female) was designed to examine the extent to which low and/or high frequency hearing loss was related to auditory cortex morphology. Low and high frequency hearing constructs were obtained from a factor analysis of audiograms from these older adults and 1,704 audiograms from an independent sample of older adults. Significant region of interest and voxel-wise gray matter volume associations were observed for the high frequency hearing construct. These effects occurred most robustly in a primary auditory cortex region (Te1.0) where there was also elevated cerebrospinal fluid with high frequency hearing loss, suggesting that auditory cortex atrophies with high frequency hearing loss. These results indicate that Te1.0 is particularly affected by high frequency hearing loss and may be a target for evaluating the efficacy of interventions for hearing loss.     

Public Health Perspectives on Hearing Loss and Aging Outcomes: Association of Self-Reported Trouble Hearing and Patient–Provider Communication with Hospitalizations among Medicare Beneficiaries

Several studies have recently illuminated the relationship between hearing loss and hospitalizations, but little is understood as to why hearing loss is associated with greater risk for hospitalizations. This study examines the role of patient–provider communication as the mechanism by which those with hearing loss are more likely to be hospitalized, using the self-reported data from 12,654 Medicare beneficiaries from the 2016 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) Cost and Use File. Multivariable logistic regression was used to model the odds of any hospitalization in the past year and negative binomial regression to model the incident rate ratio of hospitalization based on number of hospitalizations in the past year. It was found that Medicare beneficiaries who experience impaired communication with their physician due to trouble hearing have greater odds of hospitalization and a higher rate of all hospitalization over a 1-year period. Understanding the complex relationship between hearing loss, patient–provider communication, and hospitalizations may provide health care professionals with a better rational to address not only hearing loss but also impaired communication in the care of an individual.     

Wireless Connectivity for People with Hearing Loss: Behavioral Validation of the Smartphone for Remote Microphone Technology

As part of a National Institutes of Health–National Institute on Deafness and Other communication Disorders (NIH-NIDCD)–supported project to develop open-source research and smartphone-based apps for enhancing speech recognition in noise, an app called Smartphone Hearing Aid Research Project Version 2 (SHARP-2) was tested with persons with normal and impaired hearing when using three sets of hearing aids (HAs) with wireless connectivity to an iPhone. Participants were asked to type sentences presented from a speaker in front of them while hearing noise from behind in two conditions, HA alone and HA + SHARP-2 app running on the iPhone. The signal was presented at a constant level of 65 dBA and the signal-to-noise ratio varied from −10 to +10, so that the task was difficult when listening through the bilateral HAs alone. This was important to allow for improvement to be measured when the HAs were connected to the SHARP-2 app on the smartphone. Benefit was achieved for most listeners with all three manufacturer HAs with the greatest improvements recorded for persons with normal (33.56%) and impaired hearing (22.21%) when using the SHARP-2 app with one manufacturer''s made-for-all phones HAs. These results support the continued development of smartphone-based apps as an economical solution for enhancing speech recognition in noise for both persons with normal and impaired hearing.     

Anti-Endothelial Autoantibodies in Patients With Sudden Hearing Loss

Objectives/Hypothesis: Sudden hearing loss (HL) can be caused by autoimmune disorders localized to the inner ear or secondary to systemic immune diseases. Studies in autoimmune animal strains showing HL have reported changes in the cochlear stria vascularis. The authors investigated the presence of antiendothelial cell antibodies (AECA) to see if immunemediated vasculitis may play a role in human sudden HL. Study Design: A prospective study in patients with sudden HL. Methods: Fifteen consecutive patients (mean age, 32 y) affected by sudden HL and 14 normal subjects were included. Patients with familial deafness and metabolic diseases were excluded. Extensive audiovestibular, imaging, microbiological, immunological, and routine examinations were performed. AECA were detected on rat kidney tissue sections on the sera collected at ?20°C. Results: AECA were positive in 8 of 15 patients (53%) (2 of 5 men and 6 of 10 women), thus differing significantly from the normal control population, in which only 2 of 14 tested AECA positive (P = .023). Conclusions: In patients with sudden HL, immune-mediated vascular damage can have a pathogenetic role and AECA might represent a serological marker of vasculitis.     

Evaluation of Hearing Loss after Spinal Anesthesia with Otoacoustic Emissions

The aim of this study was to determine the degree and reversibility of hearing loss (HL) following spinal anesthesia with an objective audiometric test: otoacoustic emissions (OAE). Eleven patients (22 ears) who were undergoing surgery under spinal anesthesia were included in this study. Transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE) and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) were evaluated 1 day before the operation and postoperative day 1, 2, and 15. DPOAE were recorded as DPgram and input/output functions (I/O). The emission amplitudes of the TEOAE and DPOAE of right and left ears were found to be affected immediately after the surgery and progressive improvement detected with full recovery within postoperative 15 days. These changes were mainly at around 1,500–3,000 Hz. None of the patients had permanent OAE amplitude deterioration. Transient HL may occur more often than it is generally assumed, and the symptoms might not be recognized. OAE is an effective and objective way of evaluating the HL in this particular group of patients. We suggest informing patients about this transient HL for medicolegal issues.     

新型低压氧舱治疗低频波动性感音神经性听力损失的临床前瞻性研究

目的探讨新型低压氧舱方法治疗低频波动性感音神经性听力损失的临床效果。方法采用低压氧舱模拟低气压环境对20例低频波动性感音神经性听力损失患者进行治疗。治疗方案为三个循环,以3m/s的速度从正常大气压降至2200m海拔气压水平(约78.6kPa),保持5min后,以1m/s的速度增压至1100m气压水平;随后以同样的速度完成第二、三个循环,最后以1m/s的速度恢复至正常大气压。患者在550m海拔以上气压水平以150L/h的流速采用鼻吸管持续吸氧。每日治疗1次,5次为1疗程。轻度听力损失治疗1个疗程,中度听力损失一般治疗2个疗程,每疗程间休息2d。对比分析治疗前后患者纯音测听结果及耳闷堵、耳鸣、颅鸣主观症状程度变化。结果 20例患者全身状态良好,无不良反应。听力损失治愈7例,改善4例,无效9例,总有效率为55%(11/20)。轻度和中度听力损失两组患者听力疗效之间的差别有统计学意义(P0.05)。耳闷堵感治愈17例,有效2例,无效1例,总有效率为95%(19/20);耳鸣有效12例,无效8例,总有效率为60%(12/20);颅鸣共2例,无效。随访4~6个月,治疗有效的患者仅1例因上呼吸道感染后耳闷堵感复发,重复低压氧舱治疗效果为有效。结论新型低压氧舱为一种无创伤性治疗方法,对低频波动性感音神经性听力损失有较好的治疗效果,尤其是可显著改善患者的耳闷堵感,具有重要的临床应用价值。     

Increased risk of tinnitus in patients with temporomandibular disorder: a retrospective population-based cohort study

This study determined whether there is an increased risk of tinnitus in patients with temporomandibular joint (TMJ). We used information from health insurance claims obtained from Taiwan National Health Insurance (TNHI). Patients aged 20 years and older who were newly diagnosed with TMJ disorder served as the study cohort. The demographic factors and comorbidities that may be associated with tinnitus were also identified, including age, sex, and comorbidities of hearing loss, noise effects on the inner ear, and degenerative and vascular ear disorders. A higher proportion of TMJ disorder patients suffered from hearing loss (5.30 vs. 2.11 %), and degenerative and vascular ear disorders (0.20 vs. 0.08 %) compared with the control patients. The crude hazard ratio (HR) of tinnitus in the TMJ disorder cohort was 2.73-fold higher than that in the control patients, with an adjusted HR of 2.62 (95 % CI = 2.29–3.00). The comorbidity-specific TMJ disorder cohort to the control patients’ adjusted HR of tinnitus was higher for patients without comorbidity (adjusted HR = 2.75, 95 % CI = 2.39–3.17). We also observed a 3.22-fold significantly higher relative risk of developing tinnitus within the 3-year follow-up period (95 % CI = 2.67–3.89). Patients with TMJ disorder might be at increased risk of tinnitus.     

Intratympanic corticosteroid injection as a first-line treatment of the patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss compared to systemic steroid: A systematic review and meta-analysis

ObjectivesThe current study aimed to investigate if there is a difference in the use of intratympanic steroid therapy (IST), compared to systemic steroid treatment (SST), as an initial treatment for patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) by a meta-analysis design performed on the mean pure-tone average (PTA) improvement and the complete recovery rate.MethodsA systematic literature review was performed on randomized controlled trials published from 1990 to August 2020 in some databases including PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane library/CENTRAL, Ovid, ProQuest, Google Scholar, and clinical trials.gov. The primary outcomes of interest were pure-tone average improvement and complete recovery rates.ResultsSix eligible studies with 496 patients (250 patients in the IST group and 246 subjects in the SST group) were included in this study. The pooled standardized mean difference of the PTAs was estimated as 0.07 (95% CI = ?0.10 to 0.25; I² = 0.0%, P = 0.668), and the pooled odds ratio of complete recovery rate was obtained as 1.00 (95% CI = 0.66 to 0.151; I² = 31.6, P = 0.199). Moreover, the pooled standardized mean difference of pure-tone average for the intratympanic steroid treatment group compared to the patients with oral steroid treatment was 0.07 (95% CI = ?0.12 to 0.26; I² = 0.0%, P = 0.526).ConclusionsThe current study demonstrated that the effect of intratympanic injection of corticosteroid, as a first-line treatment, is not statistically different from the systemic route in improving the hearing outcomes among patients with SSNHL.     

Endoscopic Adenoidectomy in Children With Otitis Media With Effusion and Mild Hearing Loss

ObjectivesSurgical management of children with chronic otitis media with effusion (OME) includes tympanostomy tube insertion or adenoidectomy, alone or with myringotomy and tube insertion. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of transoral microdebrider endoscopic-assisted adenoidectomy (TOMEA) and traditional adenoidectomy in the management of children with mild hearing loss due to OME and chronic adenoiditis.MethodsThis prospective, double-blind and controlled study involved 120 consecutive patients aged 4–12 years, who were randomised 1:1 to undergo TOMEA or traditional adenoidectomy under general anesthesia. All the patients underwent a complete otolaryngological examination, including nasopharyngeal fibre endoscopy (NFE), pneumatic otoscopy, otomicroscopy, tympanometry and supraliminar tonal audiometry, upon enrolment, and three and nine months postoperatively.ResultsThere were no statistically significant differences in age or gender distribution between the TOMEA group (mean age, 4.9±1.1 years; 53.3% males) and the traditional adenoidectomy group (mean age, 5.3±0.9 years; 56.7% males). Both procedures led to a significant improvement in choanal patency (P<0.01) and all of the otological and audiological parameters (P<0.01) 3 and 9 months postoperatively, although postoperative NFE showed that the mean percentage of residual choanal obstruction was significantly less in the TOMEA group (P=0.02). There was no significant between-group difference in the percentage of children with tympanic membrane changes, but the postoperative prevalence of children with a type B tympanogram was significantly lower in the TOMEA group after 3 (15.0% vs. 31.7%, P=0.05) and 9 months (18.3% vs. 38.3%, P=0.02), as was the percentage of children with mild conductive hearing loss (3.3% vs. 23.3%, P<0.01; and 8.3% vs. 28.3%, P<0.01).ConclusionAlthough both TOMEA and traditional adenoidectomy are effective in treating children with mild hearing loss due to adenoidal hypertrophy and OME, the former achieves the greater reduction in residual adenoidal hypertrophy and better audiological outcomes.     

High-Frequency Sensorineural Hearing Loss and Its Underlying Genetics (Hfhl1 and Hfhl2) in NIH Swiss Mice

Studies using inbred strains of mice have been invaluable for identifying alleles that adversely affect hearing. However, the efficacy of those studies is limited by the phenotypes that these strains express and the alleles that they segregate. Here, by selectively breeding phenotypically and genetically heterogeneous NIH Swiss mice, we generated two lines—the all-frequency hearing loss (AFHL) line and the high-frequency hearing loss (HFHL) line—with differential hearing loss. The AFHL line exhibited characteristics typical of severe, early-onset, sensorineural hearing impairment. In contrast, the HFHL line expressed a novel early-onset, mildly progressive, and frequency-specific sensorineural hearing loss. By quantitative trait loci (QTLs) analyses in these two lines, we identified QTLs on chromosomes 7, 8, and 10 that significantly affected hearing function. The loci on chromosomes 7 and 8 (Hfhl1 and Hfhl2, respectively) are novel and appear to adversely affect only high frequencies (≥30 kHz). Mice homozygous for NIH Swiss alleles at either Hfhl1 or Hfhl2 have 32-kHz auditory-evoked brain stem response thresholds that are 8–14 dB SPL higher than the corresponding heterozygotes. DNA sequence analyses suggest that both the Cdh23 ^ahl and Gipc3 ^ahl5 variants contribute to the chromosome 10 QTL detected in the AFHL line. The frequency-specific hearing loss indicates that the Hfhl1 and Hfhl2 alleles may affect tonotopic development. In addition, dissecting the underlying complex genetics of high-frequency hearing loss may prove relevant in identifying less severe and common forms of hearing impairment in the human population.     

职业性噪声性聋发病工龄的调查分析

目的了解职业性噪声暴露人员的听力状况及其剂量-效应关系,为修订国家职业性噪声性聋诊断标准提供数据支持。方法选择8小时等效连续噪声暴露人员,运用横断面调查的方法,由经过培训合格的调查人员进行问卷调查和纯音听力检查。结果排除非噪声性听力损失的影响,有效调查1001人,高频听力损失检出率为65.1%(651/1001),显著高于语频听力损失检出率(3.0%,30/1001)。言语频率平均听力损失≥26dB的阳性检出率在工龄<10年组为0.0%;高频及语频听力损失率在10年及以上各工龄组间差异无统计学意义。结论10年以下噪声暴露基本不会影响作业人员的言语频率听力;在诊断是否"职业性噪声性聋"或"听力损伤"时应考虑剂量-效应关系;建议职业性噪声性聋诊断标准中增加噪声作业工龄≥5年的要求。     

Longitudinal Changes in Audiometric Phenotypes of Age-Related Hearing Loss

Presbyacusis, or age-related hearing loss, can be characterized in humans as metabolic and sensory phenotypes, based on patterns of audiometric thresholds that were established in animal models. The metabolic phenotype is thought to result from deterioration of the cochlear lateral wall and reduced endocochlear potential that decreases cochlear amplification and produces a mild, flat hearing loss at lower frequencies coupled with a gradually sloping hearing loss at higher frequencies. The sensory phenotype, resulting from environmental exposures such as excessive noise or ototoxic drugs, involves damage to sensory and non-sensory cells and loss of the cochlear amplifier, which produces a 50–70 dB threshold shift at higher frequencies. The mixed metabolic + sensory phenotype exhibits a mix of lower frequency, sloping hearing loss similar to the metabolic phenotype, and steep, higher frequency hearing loss similar to the sensory phenotype. The current study examined audiograms collected longitudinally from 343 adults 50–93 years old (n = 686 ears) to test the hypothesis that metabolic phenotypes increase with increasing age, in contrast with the sensory phenotype. A Quadratic Discriminant Analysis (QDA) was used to classify audiograms from each of these ears as (1) Older-Normal, (2) Metabolic, (3) Sensory, or (4) Metabolic + Sensory phenotypes. Although hearing loss increased systematically with increasing age, audiometric phenotypes remained stable for the majority of ears (61.5 %) over an average of 5.5 years. Most of the participants with stable phenotypes demonstrated matching phenotypes for the left and right ears. Audiograms were collected over an average period of 8.2 years for ears with changing audiometric phenotypes, and the majority of those ears transitioned to a Metabolic or Metabolic + Sensory phenotype. These results are consistent with the conclusion that the likelihood of metabolic presbyacusis increases with increasing age in middle to older adulthood.     

Hearing handicap in Asian patients with dementia

BackgroundHearing loss and hearing handicap may contribute to cognitive impairment and dementia. The purpose of this study was to analyze the association between hearing loss and hearing handicap with dementia in an Asian memory clinic parents.MethodsThis study includes the data obtained from patients with mild dementia who attended the National University hospital memory clinic and non-demented healthy subjects among spouses and caregivers who are non-genetically related to our patients. All participants underwent comprehensive physical, medical, neuropsychological and audiological assessments (i.e. pure tone audiometry - PTA). Disabling hearing loss was defined as a hearing loss of >40 dB in the better ear on PTA. Amsterdam Inventory for Auditory Disability and Handicap (AIADH) questionnaire was administered through the verbal interview to measure their hearing handicap score. Linear regression models were used to investigate the association between hearing loss and hearing handicap with dementia. Mean differences (β) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated.Results91 participants (65–90 years old) were recruited for this study; 39 of them were patients with dementia and 52 were non-demented healthy controls. 48.7% of the patients with dementia had disabling hearing loss, which is higher than the non-demented controls (25.0%) (p = 0.019). The significant association between hearing handicap (as measured by AIADH) and dementia was observed, which was independent of demographic factors and audiology related history and PTA average (β = −6.40; 95% CI =0.11.99, −0.81, p = 0.025). There was no independent association between hearing loss and dementia (p > 0.05).ConclusionA significant association between hearing handicap and dementia was found. The mechanism of this association requires further research and may involve higher order central processing disorder.     

2型糖尿病患者听力损失的相关因素研究

目的探讨2型糖尿病患者听力损失的相关因素。方法对95例2型糖尿病患者(糖尿病组)及80例正常对照组进行纯音听力测试,同时对糖尿病组检测颈总动脉内径、颈动脉内膜中层厚度、颈部动脉粥样硬化斑块、空腹血胰岛素含量、纤维蛋白原、凝血酶原时间、血小板等7项可能的相关指标,分组比较及应用多自变量Lo-gistic回归分析探讨对听力的影响因素。结果糖尿病组听力异常者检出率为63.16%(60/95),对照组为40.0%(32/80);95例2型糖尿病患者中,听力正常组(35例)与听力减退组(60例)之间的颈总动脉内径、凝血酶原时间、血小板、颈动脉内膜中层厚度差异有统计学意义(P<0.05);42例颈部动脉无斑块者的语频及高频听力减退检出率分别为26.19%(11/42)、47.62%(20/42),而在53例颈部动脉有斑块的患者中分别为47.17%(25/53)、71.70%(38/53),均明显高于无斑块者(P<0.05),且高频听力减退更明显;Logistic回归分析显示,颈动脉内膜中层厚度、血小板、凝血酶原时间、空腹血胰岛素含量为2型糖尿病患者听力损失的相关因素。结论 2型糖尿病患者中有颈部动脉粥样硬化、高凝血倾向及高胰岛素水平者听力损失比例高。     

Public Health Perspectives on Hearing Loss and Aging Outcomes: Self-Report Hearing and Injury or Falls in Older Adults from the National Health and Information Survey

This article aims to investigate the association between hearing and nonfatal injury or falls in a nationally representative sample of adults from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) utilizing over 20 years of participant surveys. We conducted a pooled cross-sectional analysis of participant surveys (aged 50 years and older) from 1997 to 2017. Self-report hearing difficulty, history of injury over the last 3 months, reported injury from fall over the last 3 months, and reported reason for fall (including due to balance/dizziness) were collected. Using logistic regression, we investigated the odds of injury, injury from fall, and fall due to balance/dizziness by self-report hearing status. In secondary analysis, we investigated the odds of each outcome by reported hearing aid use. Models were adjusted for demographics, year of study, vision difficulty, diabetes, employment, and cardiovascular disease. Reported moderate or greater difficulty hearing demonstrated a significantly greater odds of injury (odds ratio [OR]: 1.29; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.18, 1.42) or fall due to balance/dizziness (OR: 1.26; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.60) compared with reported excellent/good hearing. A dose–response association was seen across levels of reported difficulty hearing for all outcomes. In this nationally representative study of adults aged 50 years and older, greater reported difficulty hearing was significantly associated with increased odds of injury and suggests greater odds of falls or fall due to balance/dizziness compared with reported good hearing. Results suggest hearing loss should be considered as a possible risk factor for both injury and fall prevention studies and programming in older adults.