{"title":"Hearing Impairment Among Medicare Beneficiaries in the United States: Trends, Comorbidities, and Public Health Consequences.","authors":"Samuel Borgemenke, Elizabeth A Beverly","doi":"10.1177/01455613251370503","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Hearing loss is a significant public health issue in the United States, affecting an estimated 72.9 million people, or 22% of the population. Despite its prevalence and clinical impact, insurance coverage for hearing-related interventions remains inconsistent. Given these factors, particularly in the Medicare population, examining trends in hearing loss, co-occurring conditions, and utilization of audiologic services is essential to understand the burden of hearing impairment and identify gaps in care.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>To examine 10-year trends in hearing loss and cochlear implant use, along with access to audiologic services and geographic variation among Medicare beneficiaries.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Data from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services were used to plot the mean prevalence of deafness/hearing impairment overtime from 2012 to 2022, calculate the relationship between deafness/hearing impairment and common comorbidities, and determine the total number of audiometry evaluations, hearing aid assessments, hearing aid supplies and accessories, and cochlear implant surgeries for Medicare beneficiaries in the United States.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The average prevalence of hearing impairment for Medicare beneficiaries showed a significant increase from 2012 to 2022 (<i>P</i> < .01). The number of cochlear implant surgeries had a significant increase over this period, increasing from 1705 to 2828 procedures (<i>R</i> = .8, <i>P</i> < .01). Most chronic conditions had a statistically-significant relationship with deafness/hearing impairment (<i>P</i> < .001). Hyperlipidemia (<i>R</i> = .3, <i>P</i> < .001), anxiety (<i>R</i> = .2, <i>P</i> < .001), and depression (<i>R</i> = .3, <i>P</i> < .001) had the strongest relationships with deafness and hearing impairment. Urban counties (mean = 6.3%, SD = 1.7) had a statistically-significant higher prevalence of deafness/hearing impairment than rural counties (mean = 4.9%, SD = 1.7, <i>P</i> < .001).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The significant increase in hearing impairment from 2012 to 2022 emphasizes the need for expanded screening, treatment, and management strategies for geriatric patients. Addressing hearing impairment among older individuals may improve physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.</p>","PeriodicalId":93984,"journal":{"name":"Ear, nose, & throat journal","volume":" ","pages":"1455613251370503"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Ear, nose, & throat journal","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/01455613251370503","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Hearing loss is a significant public health issue in the United States, affecting an estimated 72.9 million people, or 22% of the population. Despite its prevalence and clinical impact, insurance coverage for hearing-related interventions remains inconsistent. Given these factors, particularly in the Medicare population, examining trends in hearing loss, co-occurring conditions, and utilization of audiologic services is essential to understand the burden of hearing impairment and identify gaps in care.
Objective: To examine 10-year trends in hearing loss and cochlear implant use, along with access to audiologic services and geographic variation among Medicare beneficiaries.
Methods: Data from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services were used to plot the mean prevalence of deafness/hearing impairment overtime from 2012 to 2022, calculate the relationship between deafness/hearing impairment and common comorbidities, and determine the total number of audiometry evaluations, hearing aid assessments, hearing aid supplies and accessories, and cochlear implant surgeries for Medicare beneficiaries in the United States.
Results: The average prevalence of hearing impairment for Medicare beneficiaries showed a significant increase from 2012 to 2022 (P < .01). The number of cochlear implant surgeries had a significant increase over this period, increasing from 1705 to 2828 procedures (R = .8, P < .01). Most chronic conditions had a statistically-significant relationship with deafness/hearing impairment (P < .001). Hyperlipidemia (R = .3, P < .001), anxiety (R = .2, P < .001), and depression (R = .3, P < .001) had the strongest relationships with deafness and hearing impairment. Urban counties (mean = 6.3%, SD = 1.7) had a statistically-significant higher prevalence of deafness/hearing impairment than rural counties (mean = 4.9%, SD = 1.7, P < .001).
Conclusion: The significant increase in hearing impairment from 2012 to 2022 emphasizes the need for expanded screening, treatment, and management strategies for geriatric patients. Addressing hearing impairment among older individuals may improve physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.
背景：听力损失在美国是一个重要的公共卫生问题，估计影响7290万人，占人口的22%。尽管它的流行和临床影响，保险覆盖听力相关的干预措施仍然不一致。考虑到这些因素，特别是在医疗保险人群中，检查听力损失的趋势、共同发生的条件和听力学服务的利用对于了解听力损伤的负担和确定护理差距至关重要。目的：研究听力损失和人工耳蜗使用的10年趋势，以及医疗保险受益人获得听力学服务的机会和地理差异。方法：使用来自医疗保险和医疗补助服务中心的数据，绘制2012年至2022年期间耳聋/听力障碍的平均患病率，计算耳聋/听力障碍与常见合并症之间的关系，并确定美国医疗保险受益人的听力测量评估、助听器评估、助听器用品和配件以及人工耳蜗植入手术的总数。结果：从2012年到2022年，医保受益人的平均听力障碍患病率显著上升(P R =。8、p p r =。3, p r =。2, p r =。结论：从2012年到2022年，听力障碍的显著增加强调了对老年患者扩大筛查、治疗和管理策略的必要性。解决老年人的听力障碍问题可以改善身体、心理和精神健康。
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