Kids Nowadays Hear Better Than We Did: Declining Prevalence of Hearing Loss in US Youth, 1966–2010

Details

• Personal Author:
  Dobie RA ; Flamme, Gregory A. ; Hoffman HJ ; Losonczy KG ; Themann, Christa L.
• Description:
  Objectives/Hypothesis: To investigate factors associated with hearing impairment (HI) in adolescent youths during the period 1966-2010. Study Design: Cross-sectional analyses of US sociodemographic, health, and audiometric data spanning 5 decades. Methods: Subjects were youths aged 12 to 17 years who participated in the National Health Examination Survey (NHES Cycle 3, 1966-1970; n = 6,768) and youths aged 12 to 19 years in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III, 1988-1994; n = 3,057) and NHANES (2005-2010; n = 4,374). HI prevalence was defined by pure-tone average (PTA) ≥ 20 dB HL for speech frequencies (0.5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz) and high frequencies (3, 4, and 6 kHz). Multivariable logistic models were used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: Overall speech-frequency HI prevalence was 10.6% (95% CI: 9.7%-11.6%) in NHES, 3.9% (95% CI: 2.8%-5.5%) in NHANES III, and 4.5% (95% CI: 3.7%-5.4%) in NHANES 2005 to 2010. The corresponding high-frequency HI prevalences were 32.8% (95% CI: 30.8%-34.9%), 7.3% (95% CI: 5.9%-9.0%), and 7.9% (95% CI: 6.8%-9.2%). After adjusting for sociodemographic factors, overall high-frequency HI was increased twofold for males and cigarette smoking. Other significant risk factors in NHANES 2005 to 2010 included very low birth weight, history of ear infections/otitis media, ear tubes, fair/poor general health, and firearms use. Conclusions: HI declined considerably between 1966 to 1970 and 1988 to 1994, with no additional decline between 1988 to 1994 and 2005 to 2010. Otitis media history was a significant HI risk factor each period, whereas very low birth weight emerged as an important risk factor after survival chances improved. Reductions in smoking, job-related noise, and firearms use may partially explain the reduction in high-frequency HI. Loud music exposure may have increased, but does not account for HI differences. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Adolescent Hearing Loss Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced Noise Noise, Occupational Occupational Health Safety Smokers Surveys And Questionnaires Tobacco Products
• Keywords:
  Adolescents Audiometry Author Keywords: Hearing Impairment Cigarette Smoking Cross Sectional Studies Ear Infections Ear Tubes Health Surveys Hearing Impairment Hearing Loss Loud Music Low Birth Weight Noise Exposure Pediatric Population Surveillance

  More +
• ISSN:
  0023-852X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; Ohio ; Oregon ; OSHA Region 10 ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 6 ; Texas
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DART - Division of Applied Research and Technology
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  129
• Issue:
  8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20053320
• Citation:
  Laryngoscope 2019 Aug; 129(8):1922-1939
• Contact Point Address:
  Howard J. Hoffman, Director, Epidemiology and Statistics Program, NIDCD, NIH, Neuroscience Center (NSC) Building, Suite 8300, 6001 Executive Boulevard, Bethesda, MD 20892
• Email:
  hoffmanh@nidcd.nih.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2019
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  The Laryngoscope
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:63ad6b70650162aee45c0a6b8ef2baeff14aeed0d98a38b631569b760712ca1c62e15e36944376d5d51acff319aa591c50cad9fde2c5b88ac99b6c74ea1a45b4
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/216107/cdc_216107_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 473.56 KB ]