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. 2019 Apr;276(4):945-956.
doi: 10.1007/s00405-019-05312-z. Epub 2019 Feb 9.

The prevalence of hearing loss and use of hearing aids among adults in Germany: a systematic review

Jan Löhler #  1   2 , Leif Erik Walther #  3   4 , Fynn Hansen  5 , Philipp Kapp  6 , Jörg Meerpohl  6 , Barbara Wollenberg  3 , Rainer Schönweiler  7 , Christine Schmucker  6
Affiliations

The prevalence of hearing loss and use of hearing aids among adults in Germany: a systematic review

Jan Löhler et al. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2019 Apr.

Abstract

Background: Worldwide approximately 360 million people suffer from hearing impairment, 328 million of whom are adults. Up to now there has been no systematic evaluation of any representative epidemiological data on the prevalence of hearing loss among adults in Germany. The present paper is intended to investigate this within the framework of a systematic review.

Methods: A systematic literature search was carried out in electronic databases as well as by means of hand-searching. Studies published after 1975 and indicating the prevalence or incidence of hearing impairment among German adults were included. Study selection, data extraction and additional quality assessments were made by two independent reviewers.

Results: By means of a systematic literature search it was possible to identify 6 sources, which provided solely cross-sectional data, whereby the reported data are based on a study population of between some hundred and 10 million people living in Germany. The prevalences ascertained showed a broad range of between 16% and 25% and varied according to age, study setting, definition of hearing loss and method of data capture. At present there are no utilizable data on the extent of the use of hearing aids.

Discussion: The present review demonstrates clearly that evidence-based information relating to Germany can only be made on the basis of a clear definition of hearing loss within the framework of an up-to-date and representative epidemiological study carried out with appropriate methodology. In view of the high prevalence of illnesses causing hearing impairment and of the risks to health associated with untreated hearing impairment as well as of socio-economic costs, such an epidemiological study is of great social significance.

Keywords: Adults; CI; Cochrane; Germany, incidence; Hearing aids; Hearing impairment; Hearing loss; Prevalence; Systematic review.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

In this study neither animals nor humans were involved. This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

Informed consent

For this type of study, formal consent is not required

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Prisma flowchart of the literature research [17]
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Age class-dependent percentage of hearing loss and use of hearing aids [20]
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Assessment of included studies
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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