WASHINGTON, DC–People with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are urged to take the Across America Hearing Check Challenge, a free, quick, and confidential online hearing test, at www.hearingcheck.org. The non-profit Better Hearing Institute (BHI) is offering the test to raise awareness of the link between chronic kidney disease and hearing loss. The online test will help people determine if they need a comprehensive hearing check by a hearing professional.
As reported in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases and highlighted on the National Kidney Foundation web site, a team of Australian researchers found that older adults with moderate chronic kidney disease (CKD) have a higher prevalence of hearing loss than those of the same age without CKD.
Researchers found that of about 2900 individuals aged 50 and older, 54% of those with moderate chronic kidney disease reported some level of hearing loss compared to only 28% of the rest of the group. Nearly 30% of the CKD participants showed severe hearing loss compared with only 10% of the non-CKD participants.
“Unaddressed hearing loss can have very significant consequences and greatly undermine quality of life,” said Sergei Kochkin, PhD, BHI’s executive director. “We need to alert people with chronic kidney disease of their potential for hearing loss as a result of their disease and encourage hearing screenings as part of their routine medical care to help optimize their quality of life.”
