Respondents were first asked if they or anyone in the family currently had any of 26 impairments, including specific hearing conditions. Hearing conditions mentioned in the survey are deafness in one or both ears and, trouble hearing with one or both ears. The sample person was then asked if he/she or anyone in the family used hearing aid. Based on the responses to these three questions, HR77PROBSOUR indicates the sources of information on hearing problems, such as whether the sample person had either deafness in one or both ears, any trouble hearing with one or both ears, or if he/she used a hearing aid.

In the code tab, Q36A refers to whether the sample person has deafness in one or both ears, while Q36B indicates whether the sample person has trouble hearing with one for both ears. Q37 refers to whether the sample person uses a hearing aid.