112 Prevalence of hearing loss and hearing aid use among US older adults: Health and retirement study

Objectives/Goals: Emerging studies demonstrate association of hearing loss with adverse mental and cognitive outcomes, warranting the need for reliable measures of hearing in epidemiological research. This study compared the prevalence of hearing loss among US adults based on objective and self-reported measures, as well as hearing aid use from the HRS. Methods/Study Population: This is a cross-sectional study utilizing data from the 2016/18 Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative cohort of US adults aged ≥50 years. Participants who completed both the objective hearing screening using the HearCheck device and hearing-related questionnaires were included (n=13,087). Survey weights were applied to account for the complex sampling design to estimate the prevalence of hearing loss as well as hearing aid use among those with objective hearing loss. Agreement between objective and self-reported hearing status was assessed using Cohen’s κ. Multivariable regression analyses examined demographic factors (age, sex, race/ethnicity, income, and education) associated with under-reporting of hearing loss and hearing aid use. Results/Anticipated Results: In this nationally representative sample of US adults aged ≥50 years, the prevalence of objective hearing loss was 52.6% [95% CI: 51.5-53.7] and self-reported hearing loss was 26.9% [25.9-27.9%]. Hearing aid use rate was 9.7% [8.9-10.5] among those with any objective hearing loss (score<6) and 44.9% [41.1-48.9] among those with moderate or worse hearing loss (score<3). Agreement between objective and self-reported hearing was low (Cohen’s κ=0.2), with 61.6% [60.1-63.0] under-reporting their hearing loss. In a multivariable model accounting for demographic factors, under-reporting was more likely among females (OR: 1.8 [1.6-2.1]) and individuals with higher education (OR: 2.0 [1.6-2.6]). Hearing aid use was associated with higher education (OR: 2.9 [2.0-4.2]) and higher income (OR: 2.8 [1.9-4.0]). Discussion/Significance of Impact: Hearing loss is common in older US adults, yet hearing aid use remains low. Frequent under-reporting of hearing loss highlights the need for objective measures in epidemiology studies to elucidate the impact of hearing loss on health outcomes. Addressing costs and awareness may improve access and lessen negative health effects related to hearing loss.