Objective: Current definitions of hearing loss (HL) may be insufficiently strict, as subclinical hearing loss (SCHL; >0 and ≤25 dB hearing level) has been associated with deleterious age-related conditions. SCHL prevalence and mean age of HL onset in the United States has not been characterized.
Study design: A cross-sectional epidemiologic prevalence study.
Setting: US Community.
Methods: We analyzed cross-sectional audiometric data in the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2005-2012, 2015-2018, n = 15,649). Results were scaled to the current population using weighting.
Results: 79.6% of participants (227.32 million Americans) had SCHL. The mean age of HL onset at thresholds of 25, 20, and 15 dB was 74, 66, and 55 years, respectively, for the 4-frequency pure-tone average, and 48, 44, and 35 years for the high-frequency pure-tone average.
Conclusion: We present SCHL prevalence and define HL onset by various sensitive definitions. These results inform ongoing public health efforts to increase hearing aid utilization, particularly given the arrival of over-the-counter hearing aids.
Keywords: NHANES; aging; hearing loss; prevalence.
© 2023 American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation.