Kristal M Riska1,2, Sarah B Peskoe3, Maragatha Kuchibhatla3, Alexander Gordee3, Juliessa M Pavon2,4, Se Eun Kim3, Jessica S West2,5, Sherri L Smith1,2,6. 1. Department of Head & Neck Surgery and Communication Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA. 2. Duke Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, Durham, North Carolina, USA. 3. Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA. 4. Division of Geriatrics, Department of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA. 5. Department of Sociology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA. 6. Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Falls are considered a significant public health issue and falls risk increases with age. There are many age-related physiologic changes that occur that increase postural instability and the risk for falls (i.e., age-related sensory declines in vision, vestibular, somatosensation, age-related orthopedic changes, and polypharmacy). Hearing loss has been shown to be an independent risk factor for falls. The primary objective of this study was to determine if hearing aid use modified (reduced) the association between self-reported hearing status and falls or falls-related injury. We hypothesized that hearing aid use would reduce the impact of hearing loss on the odds of falling and falls-related injury. If hearing aid users have reduced odds of falling compared with nonhearing aid users, then that would have an important implications for falls prevention healthcare. DESIGN: Data were drawn from the 2004-2016 surveys of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). A generalized estimating equation approach was used to fit logistic regression models to determine whether or not hearing aid use modifies the odds of falling and falls injury associated with self-reported hearing status. RESULTS: A total of 17,923 individuals were grouped based on a self-reported history of falls. Self-reported hearing status was significantly associated with odds of falling and with falls-related injury when controlling for demographic factors and important health characteristics. Hearing aid use was included as an interaction in the fully-adjusted models and the results showed that there was no difference in the association between hearing aid users and nonusers for either falls or falls-related injury. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study show that when examining self-reported hearing status in a longitudinal sample, hearing aid use does not impact the association between self-reported hearing status and the odds of falls or falls-related injury.
OBJECTIVES: Falls are considered a significant public health issue and falls risk increases with age. There are many age-related physiologic changes that occur that increase postural instability and the risk for falls (i.e., age-related sensory declines in vision, vestibular, somatosensation, age-related orthopedic changes, and polypharmacy). Hearing loss has been shown to be an independent risk factor for falls. The primary objective of this study was to determine if hearing aid use modified (reduced) the association between self-reported hearing status and falls or falls-related injury. We hypothesized that hearing aid use would reduce the impact of hearing loss on the odds of falling and falls-related injury. If hearing aid users have reduced odds of falling compared with nonhearing aid users, then that would have an important implications for falls prevention healthcare. DESIGN: Data were drawn from the 2004-2016 surveys of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). A generalized estimating equation approach was used to fit logistic regression models to determine whether or not hearing aid use modifies the odds of falling and falls injury associated with self-reported hearing status. RESULTS: A total of 17,923 individuals were grouped based on a self-reported history of falls. Self-reported hearing status was significantly associated with odds of falling and with falls-related injury when controlling for demographic factors and important health characteristics. Hearing aid use was included as an interaction in the fully-adjusted models and the results showed that there was no difference in the association between hearing aid users and nonusers for either falls or falls-related injury. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study show that when examining self-reported hearing status in a longitudinal sample, hearing aid use does not impact the association between self-reported hearing status and the odds of falls or falls-related injury.
Authors: Dominique Deviterne; Gérome C Gauchard; Mallaury Jamet; Guy Vançon; Philippe P Perrin Journal: Brain Res Bull Date: 2005-01-30 Impact factor: 4.077
Authors: Manuel Montero-Odasso; Yanina Sarquis-Adamson; Hao Yuan Song; Nick Walter Bray; Frederico Pieruccini-Faria; Mark Speechley Journal: J Am Geriatr Soc Date: 2019-01-30 Impact factor: 5.562
Authors: Ryan J Huang; Carl F Pieper; Heather E Whitson; Douglas B Garrison; Juliessa M Pavon; Kristal M Riska Journal: Ear Hear Date: 2022 May/Jun Impact factor: 3.562