PURPOSE:
to characterize the auditory profile of older adults with dizziness undergoing vestibular rehabilitation therapy and to compare the results with the profile of older adults without dizziness.
METHODS:
a cross-sectional, observational, and analytical study conducted with 87 older adults, 35 in the group with dizziness and 52 in the group without dizziness. The participants were interviewed and subjected to pure-tone threshold audiometry and speech audiometry. Statistical analysis was performed using the software Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 17.0, at 5% significance.
RESULTS:
approximately 72.4% of the sample exhibited mild sensorineural hearing loss, with the air conduction threshold of audibility beginning to be affected at 4,000 Hz in both groups. Tinnitus was the complaint most frequently reported by the participants.
CONCLUSION:
the auditory profile of older adults with dizziness did not differ from the profile exhibited by older adults without dizziness; bilateral mild sensorineural hearing loss with a downward sloping configuration was the most frequent finding.
Speech Therapy; Hearing; Older Adults; Presbycusis; Labyrinth, Vestibule
