THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN HEARING AND DRIVING PERFORMANCE AMONG OLDER ADULTS

Sep 29, 2026

Driving ability often underpins older adults’ independence while posing safety risks. Visual and cognitive impairments have been linked to driving performance and crashes, whereas hearing loss effects remain less clear. This analysis evaluated hearing and on-road driving performance in 494 community-dwelling adults aged over 70, using whisper-test scores and a validated 35-item driving performance scale. Errors on the hearing test related to poorer driving scores, with attenuation after controlling for demographic and clinical confounders, suggesting hearing deficits may be associated with diminished driving performance and reduced comprehension of oral test instructions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages1

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

Background

Methods

Participants

Measures

Results

Interpretation and Implications

FAQs

What was the study examining regarding older adults and driving?

The study examined the association between hearing ability and on-road driving performance among older adults.

How were hearing and driving performance measured?

Hearing was assessed using a whisper test, and driving performance was rated using a previously validated 35-item scale derived from a Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles exam.

What did the regression models show about hearing errors and driving scores?

The number of errors on the hearing test was significantly associated with poorer driving scores in negative binomial regression, and this association weakened after adjusting for demographic and clinical confounders, including cognitive function.

Sep 29, 2026

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