The influence of a perceived family history of hearing difficulties in an epidemiological study of hearing problems

Abstract

The acceptance of rehabilitative intervention by hearing impaired people is determined more by the severity of the emotional impact of the hearing impairment than by the impairment itself. The presence of a family history as a factor which could influence the emotional impact is explored in a household survey entailing responses for 34,362 individuals over the age of 14 years. The likelihood of having a family history of hearing problems was higher in those who had hearing problems (19.7%) themselves than in those without such problems (8.9%). It increased with graded severity of the reported hearing difficulties. However, even when allowing for the level of hearing difficulty (Activity Limitation), the emotional impact of the hearing loss, of loud sounds and of tinnitus was related to the likelihood of there being a family history. The greater the impact, the more likely there was to be a family history of hearing problems

• family history of hearing loss
• emotional impact
• household survey
• tinnitus
• hearing problems