Objectives: To suggest the most adaptable criteria of age-related hearing loss (ARHL) using prevalence matching with population-based data.
Methods: We chose 30, 25, 20, and 15 dB as gap ranges of cutoff values of the descending type of hearing loss, between an average of low (500 Hz, 1 kHz) and high (4 kHz, 6 kHz) frequencies. Interaural difference was defined as 10 or 15 dB. Hearing loss was defined over 25 dB. We compared the prevalence results of the cross-matching criteria. We used population-based data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We assumed that the prevalence of ARHL ranged from 25 to 35%, and this prevalence will increase gradually with age.
Results: Among the eight possible criteria, age ≥ 65 years, average of all frequencies > 25 dB at the each sides, gap between low- and high frequencies ≥ 20 dB, and interaural difference ≤ 10 dB were the most suitable criteria to suggest a quantitative definition of ARHL audiometrically.
Conclusion: In the current study, we recommend the new, quantitative ARHL criteria. The suggested criteria for ARHL might be easily accessed by other researchers to demonstrate their own hypotheses.
Keywords: Age-related hearing impairment; Classification; Epidemiology; Presbycusis; Prevalence.