Investigating the Use of the Finger Friction Test in Screening for Moderate or Higher Hearing Loss in Elderly Diabetes Patients

Abstract

  While the use of hearing aids is recommended for moderate or higher levels of hearing loss, many elderly people exhibit poor individual awareness of symptoms. Moreover, despite diabetes being a risk factor in hearing loss, clinically it has received little attention.

  The purpose of this study was to investigate the frequency of moderate or higher hearing loss defined by pure tone audiometry in elderly diabetes outpatients, and to validate the usefulness of the finger friction test (FFT) in screening for moderate or higher hearing loss, by comparing hearing evaluation using patient history inquiry. The participants were 150 elderly diabetes patients with an average age of 75.1 ± 5.8 years. Forty-nine individuals (32.7%) presented with moderate or higher levels of hearing loss, and within the hearing loss group, the frequency of having no dependents was significantly high. Sixty-one individuals (40.7%) presented with hearing loss based on the FFT. The frequency of detection based on patient history inquiry, such as individual awareness of symptoms and others, suggesting possible hearing loss, was lower than the number of cases detected by the FFT.

  The sensitivity of the FFT in detecting moderate or higher levels of hearing loss was 71.4%, and specificity was 74.3%. The sensitivity was higher than that of the patient history inquiry, but specificity was lower.

  As such, for elderly populations, the FFT is considered to be suitable to screen for moderate or higher hearing loss, due to its convenience and superior objectivity as compared to those of patient history inquiry.