Comparison of self-reported and audiometrically-measured hearing loss in the Australian Defence Force

作者：Kirk Katherine M^*; McGuire Annabel; Nasveld Peter E; Treloar Susan A

来源：International Journal of Audiology, 2012, 51(4): 294-298.

DOI：10.3109/14992027.2011.625981

• Hearing loss
• Audiometry
• Self-report
• Military
• Sensitivity
• Specificity

Objective: To investigate the relationship between self-reported and audiometrically-measured hearing loss in a sample of Australian Defence Force personnel. Design: Responses to a question regarding hearing problems were compared with contemporaneous audiometric data. Study sample: 3335 members of the Australian Defence Force for whom anonymised medical records were available. Results: The sensitivity of self-report data to identify higher-frequency hearing loss was lower than sensitivity at other frequencies, and positive predictive values were moderate to poor at all frequencies. Performance characteristics of self-report compared with audiometric data also varied with age, sex, and rank. Conclusions: While self-report hearing loss data have good performance characteristics for estimating prevalence of hearing loss as defined by audiometric criteria, this study indicates that the usefulness of self-report data in identifying individuals with hearing loss may be limited in this population.

• 出版日期2012-4