Hearing Thresholds for Unscreened U.S. Adults: Data From the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2011–2012, 2015–2016, and 2017–2020

Hearing threshold levels (HTLs) at 500–8,000 Hz from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011–2012, 2015–2016, and 2017–2020 were analyzed for males and females ranging in age from 20 to 80-plus years ( N = 8,795). HTLs for the 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles are provided for males and females. Equations were generated to describe median HTLs as a function of age at each frequency. The medians generated for this unscreened dataset of U.S. adults were compared to those in Table B.3 of ISO 1999 (2013), which came from analyses of the NHANES 1999–2006 datasets. The ISO 1999 values were found to be slightly higher (worse) at several frequencies. The ISO 1999 (2013) median HTLs were 2 to 5 dB worse at 500 Hz for males and females and 2 to 8 dB worse at 4,000 and 6,000 Hz for males than the updated NHANES estimates. As in prior analyses of NHANES data, HTLs worsened with age, were better for females than males, and were better for Non-Hispanic Blacks than for Non-Hispanic Whites. The latter difference was observed for both males and females, was confined to frequencies above 2,000 Hz, and widened with increasing age.