Clinical observation on hearing conditions of centenarians in northern district of China |
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Authors: | Chen-qing Liu Xiao-ting Cheng Yu-hua Zhu Wei-dong Shen Bo-wen Bian Ju-yang Cao |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing;2. Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou;3. Department of Geriatric Medicine, Linyi People’s Hospital, Shandong, China |
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Abstract: | Conclusion: The hearing conditions of the centenarians were quite poor as regards hearing thresholds and speech detection ability. Objective: To investigate hearing conditions of centenarians. Methods: A total of 54 centenarians in Rizhao and Linyi Districts in Shandong Province were investigated to assess hearing conditions of centenerians comprehensively by questionnaire investigation, pure-tone audiometry, acoustic immitance, intelligence evaluation, and speech detection scores. Also, 135 individuals were recruited as controls and divided into four groups according to their age: 45–59 years, 60–69 years, 70–79 years, and 80–89 years. Results: The hearing thresholds of the centenarians were dramatically higher than those of the control group (p < 0.05) and all centenarians suffered moderate to profound hearing loss according to the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. Few centenarians had normal level of speech detection scores. All centenarians showed descending hearing curve, and the hearing threshold of the male centenarians at 8000 Hz was higher than that of the females (p = 0.047). There was a significant air–bone conduction gap in the centenarians (p < 0.05). |
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Keywords: | Hearing threshold presbycusis speech detection scores age-related hearing loss |
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