Associations of frailty, self-reported balance problems, hearing abilities, and posturography in a sample of older adults.

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify risk factors for self-reported balance problems, and to analyse associations between hearing and balance.

Design: A battery of tests was administered to assess hearing and balance performance, as well as additional health-related factors indicative of frailty and fall risk. In a retrospective analysis, logistic regression was used to identify risk factors for self-reported balance problems and linear regression was used to identify associations between hearing ability and functional balance.

Study sample: For the risk factor analysis, 199 volunteers aged 55-81 years (mean:67) were divided into two groups according to their self-reported balance problems. Only participants lacking self-reported balance problems (n = 157) were included in the second analysis.

Results: Female gender, frailty, and fine-motor skills were statistically significant predictors of self-reported balance problems. Functional balance performance was related to hearing impairment for dynamic, but not for static, balance tasks.

Conclusion: For a holistic approach to healthcare and regardless of age, individuals with multiple comorbidities and/or phenotypic signs of frailty should be considered at risk for falls. For further research, it was shown that dynamic, rather than static, balance tasks may be needed to gain deeper insights into the relationship between hearing and balance.