Hearing Injury Evaluation: Current Status and Medicolegal Considerations

Park, Jee Soo; Kim, Hee Tae; Bae, Jung Ho; Byun, Sung Wan

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
In disability rating of hearing injury, there are some medicolegal considerations, such as discrepancy in estimating values between McBride system and the American Medical Association system, and difficulties in judging the hearing level in boundary cases. We have therefore felt the need of complementary hearing disability evaluation methods that reflect reality. As a first step, we have pointed out current situation and problems in legal advisory cases of hearing injury.
SUBJECTS AND METHOD
For the past 14 years, we have provided legal advisory on hearing injury for 121 cases for courts (group A) or insurance companies (group B). Eleven cases of 'aggravation of disability' were excluded. Data were summarized and tested statistically. We have used unpaired t-test for continuous variables such as age, hearing, hearing disability, disability rating, Fisher's exact test for dichotomous variable such as gender, group (A/B), and Pearson's correlation test for correlation coefficients between continuous variables.
RESULTS
Subjects were more frequently males (3:1) and in the fifth decade of life. The averages of audiometry were around 40 dB. There were significant differences in hearing and disability rating between younger and older group. Group B is significantly older than group A. The type of disability or accident did not influence hearing and disability rating.
CONCLUSION
This paper could help figure out the current situation with respect to medicolegal considerations of hearing injury discrepancies in disability rating and could also serve well to recognize the necessity for a complementary hearing disability evaluation method, especially for borderline hearing level.