Prevalence of hearing loss in older Mexican Americans in Sacramento area

The purpose of the study is to estimate the prevalence of hearing impairment among Mexican American (MA) elderly residing in the Sacramento Valley of California. The results show that 87% and 99% of MA elderly showed some level of hearing impairment at lower and higher frequencies, respectively. Men are more likely to have worse hearing than women. Hearing loss also increases significantly with age. The high prevalence of hearing loss shown in MA elderly suggests the need for a longitudinal study to monitor trends in the prevalence of hearing loss and to investigate risk factors for hearing loss. Given the serious negative consequences of hearing impairment for the health, social life, and safety of the affected individuals, it is important to identify modifiable causes of hearing loss for the development of proper intervention measures to decrease hearing impairment in this population.