Citation

Criter RE, Honaker JA. Int. J. Audiol. 2016; 55(10): 564-570.

Affiliation

a Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders , University of Nebraska-Lincoln , Lincoln , USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/14992027.2016.1193235

PMID

27329486

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To compare fall statistics (e.g. incidence, prevalence), fall risks, and characteristics of patients who seek hearing healthcare from an audiologist to individuals who have not sought such services.

DESIGN: Case-control study. STUDY SAMPLE: Two groups of community-dwelling older adult patients: 25 audiology patients aged 60 years or older (M age: 69.2 years, SD: 4.5, range: 61-77) and a control group (gender- and age-matched ±2 years) of 25 non-audiology patients (M age: 69.6, SD: 4.7, range: 60-77).

RESULTS: Annual incidence of falls (most recent 12 months) was higher in audiology patients (68.0%) than non-audiology patients (28.0%; p =.005). Audiology patients reported a higher incidence of multiple recent falls (p =.025) and more chronic health conditions (p =.028) than non-audiology patients.

CONCLUSIONS: Significantly more audiology patients fall on an annual basis than non-audiology patients, suggesting that falls are a pervasive issue in general hearing clinics. Further action on the part of healthcare professionals providing audiologic services may be necessary to identify individuals at risk for falling.

Language: en