Epidemiology of Hearing Impairment and Injuries in the U.S. Military

Details

• Personal Author:
  Betancourt J ; Gimeno D ; Gorrell N ; Hammill T ; Packer M ; Senchak A ; Tucker D ; Whitworth K
• Description:
  Objective: To provide an epidemiologic analysis of hearing impairment and injury among U.S. military personnel. Methods: For the main epidemiological analysis, we included 15-64 year old Active Duty Armed Forces serving during fiscal years (FY) 2008 to 2012, and who have at least one clinical encounter with select hearing related ICD-9 diagnoses. Cases were identified from records from direct care (CAPER: Comprehensive Ambulatory/Professional Encounter Record, and SIDR: Standard Inpatient Data Record) and paid provider (TED-I: TRICARE Encounter Data-Institutional and TED-NI: TRICARE Encounter Data-Noninstitutional) data sources. We also identified cases using the Defense Occupational and Environmental Health Readiness System-Hearing Conservation database (DOEHRS-HC), which maintains hearing conservation and audiometric data across the DoD. The Defense Manpower Data Center provided data on at-risk denominators by the demographic and job-related characteristics. Results: Demographics of the sample appeared stable over the study period, with an average annual population of approximately 1.4 million Service Members. The initial unadjusted overall incidence rate increased from 27 cases per 1000 persons to 27.6 cases per 1000 persons over the study period. The tinnitus incidence rate increased from 9.3 cases per 1000 persons in FY 2008 to 12.3 cases per 1000 persons in FY 2012. The rate of sensorineural hearing loss slightly decreased from 11.4 cases per 1000 persons to 10.7 cases per 1000 persons at the end of the study period. In general, rates of injury were highest in males, in the Army, in senior officers and in older service members. Rates will be presented for all analyzed ICD codes. Conclusions: This study will lay the groundwork for comprehensive epidemiologic studies of hearing outcomes among U.S. military personnel. Results from this project will draw much needed attention to this critical issue, encouraging initiatives to improve the auditory health and wellbeing of Service Members and aiding in the development and implementation of prevention measures. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Epidemiology Hearing Hearing Loss Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced Noise Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Audiometry Hearing Conservation Hearing Impairment Hearing Loss Military Personnel Tinnitus
• Publisher:
  American Industrial Hygiene Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 6 ; Texas
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  70
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20066036
• Citation:
  AIHce 2016: American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition Pathways to Progress, May 21-26, 2016, Baltimore, Maryland. Falls Church, VA: American Industrial Hygiene Association, 2016 May; :70
• Contact Point Address:
  D. Gimeno, The University of Texas School of Public Health, San Antonio, TX
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2016
• Performing Organization:
  University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  AIHce 2016: American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition Pathways to Progress, May 21-26, 2016, Baltimore, Maryland
• End Date:
  20250630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c0152c971314667174ce0ab2e348a141e6d8ce253c595150a73e83e05654c26a8476ae9180ce4468b4676743fba2bc6871242a7ecf215f1493d7753e025f5f57
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/209120/cdc_209120_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.43 MB ]