Medical aspects of ageing in a population with intellectual disability: II. Hearing impairment.
Older clients with ID carry extra moderate-severe hearing loss—screen ears yearly.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team looked at hearing in older adults with intellectual disability.
They used a case-series design.
All clients lived in disability services and were 65 years or older.
What they found
Hearing loss was common, just like in other seniors.
Yet moderate-to-severe loss showed up more often in this group.
The authors urged routine ear checks and early wax removal.
How this fits with other research
Jones et al. (1992) saw the same pattern in young adults with Down syndrome.
They found poor thresholds and slow word ID under noise.
The new data say the gap widens with age.
McSweeney et al. (2000) push the finding further.
Their 35-year follow-up shows hearing loss raises mortality risk in ID.
Fellinger et al. (2022) add a behavior angle.
Deaf clients with ID show more maladaptive acts when language is weak.
Together the papers trace a line: early ear trouble → later hearing loss → shorter life and more behavior issues.
Why it matters
You can act on this today. Add hearing screens to annual plans for every adult with ID. Request wax removal before assuming non-compliance. Pair aids with language goals to cut problem behavior. A five-minute audiogram may buy years of better health and calmer days.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Hearing function of an institutionalized population with intellectual disability, consisting of 70 subjects with a mean age of 70.1 (range 60-92) years at initial evaluation, was assessed during a 10-year longitudinal study. One subject had Down's syndrome and could not be assessed as a result of dementia. The total prevalence of mild to severe hearing loss (33.3% in the 60-70 age group and 70.4% in those over age 70) was comparable to reported data from an ageing population without intellectual disability in the United Kingdom (37%, respectively 60%). However, the proportion of moderate to severe losses might be higher (16.7% vs. 7% in the 60-70 age group and 33.3% vs. 18% in the older age group). Excess impairment was caused by severe congenital and childhood hearing impairment on one hand, and by conductive losses, probably caused by unrecognized chronic middle ear infections, superposed upon presbyacusis, on the other. Impacted ear wax was also a major problem. The incidence of new cases with hearing loss during follow-up was 50%. After individual habituation training hearing aids were used without difficulties by 20 out of 24 subjects. The importance of active screening and treatment of middle ear infections and hearing impairment from a young age onwards, and regular cleaning of the external ear canals is stressed.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 1995 · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2788.1995.tb00910.x