Analysis of Age-Related Hearing Loss with Respect to Race and Sex

Running Head: PUBH 8545: ADVANCED ANALYSIS OF COMMUNITY HEALTH DATA
AND SURVEILLANCE IN PUBLIC HEALTH
PUBH 8545: Advanced Analysis of Community Health Data and Surveillance in Public Health
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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PUBH 8545: ADVANCED ANALYSIS OF COMMUNITY HEALTH DATA AND
SURVEILLANCE IN PUBLIC HEALTH
Introduction
The main aim of this research is to test the difference in the age related hearing loss with
respect to race and sex. For the analysis, the variables that have been selected are Race, Sex,
Age, Income, Occupational Exposure, Education, Hearing Difficulty and Loss of Hearing of an
individual. People between 65 and 85 years have been considered for the study. Missing values
have been eliminated from the data and after that a random sample of 400 individuals have been
selected.
Research Questions
 What is prevalence rate of hearing loss in men and women in Puerto Rico?
 What is prevalence rate of hearing loss by Race in Puerto Rico?
 What is prevalence rate of hearing losses related to define age group in the study?
Data Analysis
Descriptive Analysis
From the analysis, it has been observed that out if the 400 selected people, there are 103
people with hearing difficulty and 297 people without hearing difficulty. Thus, it can be said that
most people in the age group of 65 and 85 years are without hearing difficulty. Most of the older
people have not experienced loss of hearing. Most of the selected individuals are females. There
are more people belonging to white race than that belonging to the black race.
It can also be seen that most of the selected individuals have completed high school or
even less educational qualification. Very little number of people have completed master’s degree
or higher levels of education. The people of older ages are mostly unemployed or do not work in
the labor force.

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PUBH 8545: ADVANCED ANALYSIS OF COMMUNITY HEALTH DATA AND
SURVEILLANCE IN PUBLIC HEALTH
The average age of the selected people are 72.86 years. The age of the selected people are
not much scattered and are close to the average age. On the other hand, the average income of
the people is $10325.70 and the income are extremely scattered and not at all close to the
average income.
Inferential Statistics
The prevalence rate of hearing loss in men as well as in women is 3.25 percent. The
prevalence rate of hearing loss in white people is 5.25 percent and that in black people is 1.25
percent. From the analysis, it has also been observed that loss of hearing is not affected by the
race of the individuals and gender of the individuals have no such impact on the hearing ability
or the loss of hearing.
From the analysis, no difference in the hearing losses have been observed with respect to
age. Thus, it can be said that loss of hearing does not depend on age. From the results of the
regression analysis conducted, it can also be established that other than race, no other variables
considered such as Sex, Age, Income, Occupational Exposure, Education and Hearing Difficulty
does not affect the loss of hearing in individuals, though the impact of race is also negligible.
Conclusion
From all the analysis conducted above, it can be concluded that there are no race and sex
differences in the age related hearing loss in individuals. Thus, the hearing loss in people can be
said is completely dependent on the health of a person and not on any other demographic factors.

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PUBH 8545: ADVANCED ANALYSIS OF COMMUNITY HEALTH DATA AND
SURVEILLANCE IN PUBLIC HEALTH
Appendices
Hearing_Difficulty
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid
Yes 103 25.8 25.8 25.8
No 297 74.3 74.3 100.0
Total 400 100.0 100.0
Education
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative
Percent
Valid
High School or Less 318 79.5 79.5 79.5
Bachelor's Degree 33 8.3 8.3 87.8
Master's Degree or higher 8 2.0 2.0 89.8
Others 41 10.3 10.3 100.0
Total 400 100.0 100.0
Gender
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid
Male 166 41.5 41.5 41.5
Female 234 58.5 58.5 100.0
Total 400 100.0 100.0
Race
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid
White 366 91.5 91.5 91.5
Black 34 8.5 8.5 100.0
Total 400 100.0 100.0
Occupational_Exposure
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative
Percent
Valid Civilian Employed 26 6.5 6.5 6.5
Unemployed or Not in Labor
Force
374 93.5 93.5 100.0