Prevalence of severe-to-Profound hearing loss in the adult Swedish population and comparison with cochlear implantation rate.

BACKGROUND

The prevalence of disabling hearing loss is increasing worldwide. However, previous studies on hearing loss prevalence have enrolled small populations or only provided estimates.

AIM: To establish the prevalence of severe-to-profound hearing loss (STPHL) in the adult Swedish population and compare it with the cochlear implantation rate in Sweden.

MATERIAL AND

METHODS

We established a database containing over 15 million audiograms obtained from regions covering > 99% of the Swedish population by extracting audiogram data from the computer software application, Auditbase. We used this database to calculate the percentage of adult patients with bilateral hearing levels ≥ 70 dB. We collected data regarding cochlear implantations in Sweden from the National Board of Welfare and Health.

RESULTS

The prevalence of STPHL in the adult Swedish population was 0.28%. There were regional variations in the prevalence and rate of cochlear implantation; however, there was no association between both parameters.

CONCLUSIONS

This study presents an updated and reliable prevalence figure for STPHL in Sweden.

SIGNIFICANCE: Patients with STPHL have extensive rehabilitation requirements; accordingly, it is important to determine the accurate prevalence of STPHL to inform the allocation of adequate resources.