Prevalence of handicapping hearing loss in an aging population.

The mean hearing thresholds of 369 Finnish inhabitants, 65 years, and born in 3 consecutive years on two elected days each year, were studied in high standard measurement conditions. Eighty-nine of these subjects were reexamined 3 years later. They represented a typical partly industrialized white population with a high standard of living. With the criteria for hearing rehabilitation for presbycusis set at a mean hearing threshold of 30 dB or worse at 500 to 1,000 to 2,000 Hz, and/or 50-dB hearing loss at 2,000 Hz, the prevalence of rehabilitation need was 3.2%. Conductive hearing losses were found in 6% of the subjects.