ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of undiagnosed hearing impairment in people aged 60 years or over in a general practice setting. DESIGN: A self-administered questionnaire followed by physical examination and audiometry. SETTING: A group general practice in the Melbourne suburb of Moorabbin. PATIENTS: Two hundred and one people aged 60 years or over who were not known to be hearing impaired. OUTCOME MEASURE: Results of air-conduction audiometry. RESULTS: Seventy-five of the 201 people had undiagnosed hearing loss (37%). The assessments of hearing ability by the patients and their relations were good predictors of the outcome of the audiogram (P < 0.001). Occupational history, medical history and physical examination were poor predictors (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The use of audiometry for screening for hearing impairment in older general practice patients is likely to have a high yield. A large proportion of people with abnormal audiograms will, however, refuse a hearing aid.
