TY - JOUR T1 - Deafness in adults—screening in general practice JF - The Journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners JO - J R Coll Gen Pract SP - 161 LP - 164 VL - 31 IS - 224 AU - Douglas B. MacAdam AU - Jill Siegerstetter AU - Martin C. A. Smith Y1 - 1981/03/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/31/224/161.abstract N2 - A random sample of 1,083 people, drawn from the lists of two practices in Leeds, was used to estimate the prevalence of deafness among adults. A test for deafness (defined as failure to hear 35 decibels at 1000 Hz in one or both ears) using a portable audiometer proved simple to operate with little observer variation. Eight per cent of adults were found to be deaf. The prevalence of deafness increased with age and was lowest in social classes I and II; there was no significant difference between the sexes. Audiometry showed that 17 per cent of those who thought their hearing was abnormal had no recorded loss of hearing using the stated test and that 18 per cent of those who are deaf would be overlooked if the question “Do you think your hearing is normal?” was used for initial screening in general practice. Less than 20 per cent knew of any services or aids for the deaf apart from those available through general practitioners. ER -