As part of an epidemiologic study of hearing disorders in older adults, audiometric thresholds (250-20,000 Hz), word recognition performance (Northwestern University Auditory Test No. 6 word lists in quiet and in competing message), and Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly-Screening (HHIE-S) scores were evaluated for 3178 adults ranging in age from 48 to 92 years. Overall, higher HHIE-S scores were more prevalent for older age groups and for greater degrees of hearing loss. After adjusting for the degree of hearing loss, the probability of reporting a hearing disability (handicap) decreased with age.