Perceptions of Maltese senior citizens on hearing acuity

Abstract

There has been no research that addresses hearing acuity amongst Maltese senior citizens. The purpose of this research study was to evaluate the relationship between perceptions of hearing acuity and the pure-tone audiometry (PTA) of 200 Maltese senior citizens aged 60-75 years living in the community. The single question (SQ) and the Maltese translated version of the Hearing Handicap Index for the Elderly – Screening (HHIE-S) were used to gather information about the perceptions of the Maltese senior citizens while the PTA was used as the gold standard hearing sensitivity measure. The significant other of the Maltese senior citizens was asked to complete the HHIE-S based on the hearing acuity of the Maltese senior citizen. Data was collected in a quiet room at the participants’ own town/village. The perceptions were compared to the PTA. Additional information regarding the Maltese senior citizens’ general and medical history was also collected to provide a holistic overview of the participants’ hearing acuity. Results indicated that the hearing perception scores of senior citizens and that of the significant other were strongly correlated (r=0.764). The use of HHIE-S amongst the Maltese senior citizens was found to be a fair test in identifying those with and without hearing impairment in comparison to the PTA, whilst the SQ was found to be a good test. The SQ was found to be a better screening measure with the highest specificity (74%) and sensitivity (74%) amongst the Maltese senior citizens.