Hearing in Adults: A Digital Reprint of the Main Report From the MRC National Study of Hearing.
Michael A Akeroyd, George G Browning, Adrian C Davis and 1 others
PMID 31856690WHAT IT FOUND
A 1980s UK hearing survey of 48,313 adults is now available as a searchable digital reprint.
Age was the strongest factor linked with hearing loss; noise, social class and sex had smaller links.
Key findings
01The original MRC National Study of Hearing sent a postal questionnaire to 48,313 adults, with an 80% response rate, and 2,578 people had complete audiograms in the clinic tier.
02Age was the strongest factor associated with hearing loss in the original analysis; the reported odds ratio reached 95 for ages 71 to 80, while noise, social class and sex reached 2.3.
03The article provides a fully searchable, open-access digital reprint of the 1995 Hearing in Adults report.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
This article is an introduction to a digital reprint, not a new clinical study; it reports no new patient outcomes or intervention effects. The original data were collected between 1980 and 1986, so current hearing levels, noise exposure, health, longevity and social classification may differ. The original study was not designed to count severely, profoundly or totally hearing-impaired people, or prelingually deaf people. It was not directly concerned with coverage or targeting of audiology services. Some data collected in the original study, including blood samples, frequency resolution and speech perception, were not reported in the book being reprinted, and tinnitus was reported only briefly. The article's statements about the study's quality and importance are author commentary, not measured results.
Declared interests
The supplied text names the Medical Research Council as funder and gives no other conflict-of-interest statement.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that any hearing treatment works or that current UK hearing prevalence is exactly the same as in the 1980s. It is a reprint introduction and historical survey summary, not a new clinical trial.