Philippine E-Journals

The Correlation Between Patients’ Subjective Perception to Screen and Grade Hearing Loss Compared to an Audiogram

Dominador A. Garduño Iii | Karen Capuz | Emmanuel Cruz

Discipline: Health, Medicine

 

Abstract:

Objectives: 1. To develop a practical hearing assessment technique based on the patients’ subjective perception of hearing loss which may be used by general practitioners, family physicians, internists, and other medical personnel to screen and grade hearing loss in the outpatient setting. 2. To determine if there is a correlation between the patients’ subjective perception of hearing loss compared with an audiogram.

Study Design: Cross sectional study

Setting: Tertiary

Sample population and methodology: One hundred forty patients with a chief complaint of hearing loss who consulted at the ENT-OPD and Amearco Hearing Center were included in the study. The patients were asked to grade their hearing loss on a scale of 1-10, 10 with normal hearing and 0 with severe hearing loss. The results were tabulated under the patients’ subjective perception of hearing loss and then compared to the audiometry results.

Results and Conclusion: Statistical analysis showed that there was no significant difference between the patients’ subjective perception of hearing loss compared to audiometry results for both ears. There was a high correlation between the patients’ subjective perception of hearing loss and the audiogram results for severe hearing loss followed by moderate, mild, and normal hearing loss. In conclusion, the patients’ subjective perception of hearing loss appears to be a reliable means to screen and grade hearing loss in this given population. It is simple and cost effective with a high reliablility which may be a valuable tool that any medical personnel could utilize to screen and grade hearing loss prior to referral to ENT specialist.