Trends in the Prevalence of Hearing Loss Among Young Adults Entering an Industrial Workforce 1985 to 2004

Details

• Personal Author:
  Cullen MR ; Dixon-Ernst C ; Galusha D ; Rabinowitz PM ; Slade MD
• Description:
  Studies have suggested that hearing loss due to recreational noise exposure may be on the rise among adolescents and young adults. This study examines whether the hearing status of young US adults entering an industrial workforce has worsened over the past 20 yr. The baseline audiograms of 2526 individuals ages 17 to 25 beginning employment at a multisite US corporation between 1985 and 2004 were analyzed to determine the yearly prevalence of hearing loss. Approximately 16% of the young adults in the sample had high frequency hearing loss (defined as hearing thresholds greater than 15 dB in either ear at 3,4, or 6 kHz). In a linear regression model, this prevalence decreased over the 20-yr period (odds ratio (OR) = 0.96, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.94, 0.99). Almost 20% of subjects had audiometric "notches" consistent with noise exposure; this rate remained constant over the 20 yr, as did the prevalence (5%) of low frequency hearing loss. These results indicate that despite concern about widespread recreational noise exposures, the prevalence of hearing loss among a group of young US adults has not significantly increased over the past two decades. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Age Factors Aging Hearing Hearing Loss Noise Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Age-factors Age-groups Hearing-loss Models Noise-exposure Occupational-exposure Sampling
• ISSN:
  0196-0202
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Connecticut ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  369-375
• Volume:
  27
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20031120
• Citation:
  Ear Hear 2006 Aug; 27(4):369-375
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2006
• Performing Organization:
  Yale University
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20020930
• Source Full Name:
  Ear and Hearing
• End Date:
  20050929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d8397c8584a93d486c0a321f84748ee5ccd6e4a621daab4d886612c91d32f85e6e0ccb6fe484eb8393086535ef6c987373bf9aa60be9ef791002a5f4149b71d9
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/191472/cdc_191472_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 387.40 KB ]