Audiological study of an elderly brazilian population

SummaryThe Brazilian elderly population is growing, and already represents 8,6% of our total population. Environmental factors, lifestyle, gender and genetics impact the development of presbycusis, which reduces quality of life.Aiminvestigate audiologic and vestibular complaints in the elderly; perform tonal audiometry and check to see if there are differences between genders.StudyCross-sectional clinical prospective study.Materials and Methods320 elderly patients (160 men and 160 women) were submitted to audiologic interview and tonal audiometry. The results were statistically analyzed by the following methods: ANOVA, Mann-Whitney and Chi-Squared.Resultsaudiologic and vestibular complaints (hearing loss, tinnitus, ear fullness, dizziness) were similar between the genders (except for dizziness: p<0,05); tonal audiometry showed a significant difference, with hearing loss in the high frequencies among men; and among women the curves were descending and flat. These results were statistically significant (P<0,001).Conclusionour results lead us to conclude that, when the genders are compared, hearing loss in the elderly has similar symptoms; however, there are significant differences in tonal audiometry.