RESUMO

Data from the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were employed to investigate the prevalence of hearing loss and hearing aid use in Mexican-American, Cuban-American, and Puerto Rican adults. Hearing loss was 6 to 14 times more prevalent in older (ages 54 to 74) vs younger (ages 20 through 34) subjects. Cuban Americans and Mexican Americans tended to have a similar prevalence of hearing loss, whereas Puerto Ricans had markedly lower rates. Mexican-American men had higher rates of hearing loss than Mexican-American women. The prevalence of hearing aid use among hearing-impaired individuals ranged from 2% to 11%. Implications for future research are discussed.

Assuntos

Auxiliares de Audição/estatística & dados numéricos , Transtornos da Audição/epidemiologia , Hispânico ou Latino/estatística & dados numéricos , Adulto , Idoso , Cuba/etnologia , Feminino , Inquéritos Epidemiológicos , Humanos , Masculino , Americanos Mexicanos/estatística & dados numéricos , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. , Prevalência , Porto Rico/etnologia , Estados Unidos/epidemiologia