2020 Volume 63 Issue 2 Pages 122-129
This survey was conducted to clarify the prevalence of frailty and the characteristics of frailty in elderly hearing-impaired patients, using a questionnaire (KCL: Kihon Check List). A total of 117 patients over the age of 60 years who visited our ENT department seeking hearing aids were included.
The prevalence of frailty among the subjects, excluding those who had been certified as requiring long-term care, was 26.5%. The total percentage of patients who were classified under the categories of pre-frailty, frailty, and long-term care was about 60%, and less than about 40% of patients were classified in the category of robust status. In the examination by the hearing level, a significant correlation was observed between the average total score on the KCL and the degree of hearing loss, although this correlation was no longer seen after the results were adjusted for age. The proportion of patients with KCL≧8 points, including those classified as requiring long-term care, increased as the hearing loss progressed. No significant correlation was observed between the percentage of patients classified as having cognitive function decline and the degree of hearing loss. On the other hand, the proportion of patients classified as having physical function decline and housebound increased significantly as the degree of hearing loss increased.
About a half of the elderly patients seeking hearing aids were classified under the categories of frailty and pre-frailty, suggesting that this group is a target group for efforts to prevent long-term care.
