Consistent hearing aid use is associated with lower fall prevalence and risk in older adults with hearing loss.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Falls and their sequelae cost more than $50 billion every year. Older adults with hearing loss are at 2.4 times greater risk of falls than their normal hearing peers. Current research is inconclusive about whether hearing aids can offset this increased fall risk, and no previous studies considered if outcomes differed based on the consistency of hearing aid use.

Methods

Individuals 60 years and older with bilateral hearing loss completed a survey consisting of the Fall Risk Questionnaire (FRQ) and questions about hearing loss history, hearing aid use, and other common fall risk factors. In this cross-sectional study, fall prevalence, as well as fall risk (based on FRQ score), was compared between hearing aid users and non-users. A separate group of consistent hear

SUBMITTER: Campos L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10592632 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature