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The Silent Stumble: Association Between Objective Sensory Impairment and Fall History Among Elderly Residents in Singapore Rental Housing

Melissa AKERIB, Jean-Yves LE GOFF, Timothy ARNAUT, Bríain Ó HARTAIGH, Katherine BYRNE, Shannon DUNCAN, Kajsa KVIST and Gilles PandIT

Falls cause significant morbidity among Singaporean seniors. In low-income populations lacking access to sensory aids, the contribution of undetected hearing and vision impairments to fall risk requires investigation.To investigate associations between vision/hearing screening outcomes and self-reported falls among rental-flat seniors, adjusting for age, gender, and dizziness.In October 2025, 147 Toa Payoh rental-flat residents (mean age:64.0±10.8) underwent surveys, Snellen vision testing, and audiometry (40dBHL). Multivariable logistic regression (N=116) assessed associations between screening failure ("impairment") and self-reported falls, adjusting for age, gender, and dizziness.14 (9.5%) of 147 participants reported ≥1 fall in the preceding year. 6(4.1%) failed vision screening. 16(10.9%) failed hearing screening. 37.5% (6/16) of those with hearing impairment reported falls compared to only 6.1% (8/131) of those with normal hearing (OR=6.90,95% CI[1.94-24.26],p=0.0023). After adjusting for age, gender, and dizziness in the multivariate model, hearing impairment is still a significant independent predictor of falls (adjusted OR=6.10,95% CI[1.49-26.15], p=0.0118). Females demonstrate increased fall risk (OR=5.53, 95% CI [1.42-29.87], p=0.0238). Age showed a trend toward significance (OR=1.06/year,95% CI[0.997-1.14],p=0.077). Dizziness did not independently predict falls after accounting for sensory impairment (OR=1.09,95% CI[0.21-4.55],p=0.905), suggesting sensory impairment as the underlying cause. No association between vision impairment and falls due to the small number of vision failures (n=6), also possibly due to vision failures being more obvious and likely to be corrected.Uncorrected hearing impairment is a potent, modifiable risk factor in this demographic, contributing to falls via reduced environmental hazard awareness, cognitive load redistribution and vestibular dysfunction. The 10.9% screening failure rate highlights financial and psychosocial access gaps. Addressing hearing deficits offers substantial healthcare savings compared to the high costs of treating hip fractures. The gap in accessing hearing aids, may be due to financial barriers, or psychosocial barriers (believing hearing loss is normal). The strong association for falls in women (OR=5.53) may be due to factors, such as bone density differences, higher baseline frailty, or a greater willingness to report falls.Routine community-based hearing screening is a vital, cost-effective fall prevention strategy. Interventions should prioritize subsidized hearing aids and targeted education to improve adherence and reduce fall-associated morbidity in vulnerable elderly populations.