Description of Collaborative Activity: |
"Hearing loss and balance impairment, including inner ear vestibular disorders (vertigo, other dizziness problems) can profoundly affect a persons life and health; impacting the ability to work, interact socially and engage during health care encounters. Adults with hearing and balance disabilities are at risk for decreased quality of life, poorer health status, and diminished health care services received. Targeted interventions delivered in a community or medical setting, provided by audiologists, Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) doctors [aka, otolaryngologists-head and neck surgeons], neuro-otologists, occupational and physical therapists, pediatricians, gerontologists and other trained health care workers can potentially mitigate risks for long-term disability. The ability of individuals to hear, like the ability to see, contributes immeasurably to quality of life. The hearing health of individuals affects their educational success, employment opportunities, workplace productivity (and safety), and social and mental health. Hearing loss is the third most common chronic physical condition in the US; it is twice as prevalent as diabetes or cancer. About 12 million (6 percent) American adults report they have serious difficulty hearing or are deaf. Approximately 50 million Americans have hearing loss of mild, moderate, severe, or greater degree in one or both ears. Hearing loss is one of the top three most prevalent chronic conditions in older Americans, together with hypertension and arthritis. As age increases, hearing loss can be so gradual that a person often is unaware of it until the loss becomes difficult to manage. Yet the prevalence of hearing loss doubles with each decade of advancing age. The number is expected to increase as the baby-boomer population ages; by 2030, nearly one in five U.S. residents is expected to be 65 and older. This age group is projected to increase to 88.5 million in 2050, which is more than double the number of adults over age 65 in 2008 (38.7 million). The proposed questions on hearing and balance disorders were asked about children and adults (with some minor changes) in the 2014 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) Hearing Supplement and the 2016 NHIS Balance and Dizziness Supplement. To maintain validity for cross-survey comparisons, wording has been standardized for hearing and balance questions asked during home interviews, prior to physical exams in mobile exam centers, in NHANES 2015-16, 2017-18, and 2019-23. Advantages to obtaining the information from the NHIS include the large sample size (~13,000 children, ~35,000 adults) in a single year of data collection and the relatively quick availability of the data collected as Public Use files approximately 6 months after data collection ends for NHIS each year. For timely analysis and release of information to the public and, also, to inform scientific research, NHIS is an appropriate nationally representative health survey of the civilian, non-institutionalized US population. These advantages are important as well for tracking and monitoring US Healthy People objectives. |
