Resumen de Self-Reported Hearing Loss in Older Adults Is Associated with Future Decline in Instrumental Activities of Daily Living but Not in Social Participation

Mutsuko Yamada, Yuji Nishiwaki, Takehiro Michikawa, Toru Takebayashi

• Objectives: To investigate whether self-reported hearing loss in older adults is associated with a decline in their ability to perform instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) or a decline in social participation.

  Design: Prospective follow-up.

  Setting: Community.

  Participants: One thousand two hundred fifty-four adults aged 65 to 98.

  Measurements: Self-reported hearing loss, IADL, and social participation were evaluated through home-visit surveys. Self-reported hearing loss was measured according to responses to the question, �Do you have difficulty hearing and understanding what a person says to you in a quiet room if they speak normally to you, even when wearing your hearing aid?� Levels of IADL and social participation were measured using the subscales of the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology Index of Competence (TMIG-IC).

  Results: Of the 921 participants with a perfect baseline IADL score and valid follow-up scores, 105 also self-reported hearing loss at baseline. Of this group, 44.8% (total n = 105) reported a decline in their IADL score over the 3-year follow-up period. After adjusting for major confounders, a statistically significant difference in experiencing an IADL decline over the 3-year period was found between those with hearing loss at baseline and those without (odds ratio (OR) = 1.79, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.12�2.87). Self-reported hearing loss at baseline did not have a statistically significant effect on decline in social participation (OR = 1.05, 95% CI = 0.63�1.76) over the 3-year follow-up period.

  Conclusion: Self-reported hearing loss was associated with a decline in IADL, but not with social participation.