Hearing loss and paid employment: Australian population survey findings

Abstract

This paper provides an analysis of participation in paid employment for people with a hearing loss over the full span of adult ages. The paper is based on original analysis of the 2003 Australian survey of disability, aging and carers (SDAC). This analysis shows that hearing loss was associated with an increased rate of non-participation in employment of between 11.3% and 16.6%. Advancing age and the existence of co-morbidities contribute significantly to reduced participation in employment. A disproportionate impact is evident for women and for those having low education and communication difficulties. Controlling for co-morbidities, hearing loss was associated with a 2.1% increase of non-participation in employment, a proportional difference of 1.4 times the population. People with hearing loss were less likely to be found in highly skilled jobs and were over-represented among low income earners. The SDAC data set provides self-report findings on the experience of disability rather than hearing impairment. As such, these findings serve as a conservative estimate of the impact of hearing loss on accessing well-paid employment.

• Hearing loss
• Unemployment
• Workforce participation
• Occupation
• Income
• Age
• Gender

Abbreviations
ABS	=	Australian Bureau of Statistics
CD	=	Communication difficulties
CURF	=	Confidentialized unit record file
SDAC	=	Survey of disability, aging and carers

Abbreviations
ABS	=	Australian Bureau of Statistics
CD	=	Communication difficulties
CURF	=	Confidentialized unit record file
SDAC	=	Survey of disability, aging and carers

Sumario

Este trabajo proporciona un análisis de la participación de personas hipoacúsicas con empleos pagados, en relación con el espectro total de edades adultas. Se basa en el análisis original de la encuesta australiana de 2003 sobre discapacidad, envejecimiento y cuidadores (SDAC). Este análisis muestra que la hipoacusia estaba asociada a una tasa aumentada de desempleo entre el 11.3% y el 16.6%. La edad avanzada y la existencia de comorbilidad, contribuye significativamente a una tasa de empleo reducida. Es evidente un desproporcionado impacto en mujeres y en quienes tienen poca educación y dificultades comunicativas. Al controlar la comorbilidad, la hipoacusia se asoció con un 2.1% de aumento del desempleo, que implica proporcionalmente una diferencia 1.4 veces mayor que la población general. Se encontraron menos personas hipoacúsicas en trabajos de altas habilidades y estuvieron sobre-representados entre quienes tienen ingresos bajos. Los datos SDAC reportan hallazgos de auto-reportes sobre experiencias en cuanto a discapacidad más que en cuanto a impedimentos auditivos. Así, estos hallazgos sirven como un estimado conservador del impacto de la hipoacusia para el acceso a empleos bien remunerados.