Accuracy of Self-reported Hearing Loss

The purpose of this study was to assess the accuracy, in older adults, of questions assessing hearing loss. Study participants (n=3,556), aged 48-92 years, were examined in a population-based study of age-related hearing loss in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. Self-report data from the ten-question Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly-screening Version (HHIE-S), and four additional questions were compared with hearing loss as measured by pure-tone air conduction audiometry. The single question, 'Do you feel you have a hearing loss?' was the most sensitive question (sensitivity=71 per cent); its overall and gender-specific prevalence estimates were within 3.2 per cent of prevalence measures derived audiometrically, although age-group specific estimates were not as accurate. Using an HHIE-S total score