Prevalence and patterns of hearing loss among the elderly with cigarette smoking and alcohol experience

Abstract

Hearing loss is a very common disabling condition among the elderly, as it is estimated that approximately one-third of persons above 60 years have hearing loss across the globe, some of which are due to social habits such as cigarette smoking and alcohol drinking. Thus, this study investigated the prevalence, types, and patterns of hearing loss among the elderly with smoking and alcohol experience in Ibadan metropolis. 100 elderly (M= 78; F-22), aged 65 - 70 years purposively selected participated in the study. The pure-tone audiometry determined the types and patterns of hearing loss of the participants, and the structured questionnaire determined their smoking and alcohol experience. Hearing loss was found prevalent among the elderly with smoking and alcohol experience (85%), mixed hearing loss was the predominant type (74%), while sloping pattern of hearing loss (72%) was found predominant among the participants. Males (67) had more cases of hearing loss than the females (18). Therefore, there should be a thorough awareness campaign towards educating the general populace about the implications of indulging in negative social habits such as cigarette smoking and alcohol taking.