2016 Volume 59 Issue 2 Pages 124-131
A total of 87 users of a long-term care health facility underwent ear examinations and audiometry. The average age of the subjects was 83.5±8.0 years and the average score on the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) was 14±9.0. In the subjects who could not react with the button in the hearing test, other methods such as placing marbles, raising a hand, or verbal response were used. Behavioral observation audiometry was also used in some subjects. The subjects were divided into four groups according to the reliability of the hearing test. We investigated the MMSE scores and the timing of the hearing test in the four groups.
Ear examination showed normal results in 64 subjects (73%). In all of the 17 cases (100%) with MMSE scores of 24 and over, the right and left hearing thresholds were measurable by using several reaction patterns according to the cognitive function level of the subjects. Furthermore, they were also measurable in 30 of the 33 cases with MMSE scores of 11-23 (91%), and 12 of the 31 cases with MMSE scores of 10 or lower (38%). Bilateral hearing loss was observed in 56 (90%) of the 62 subjects in whom the audiometry threshold could be obtained. There was no statistically significant correlation between the hearing level and the MMSE scores.
