Dataset Information

Hearing Difficulties and Tinnitus in Construction, Agricultural, Music, and Finance Industries: Contributions of Demographic, Health, and Lifestyle Factors.

ABSTRACT: High levels of occupational noise exposure increase the risk of hearing difficulties and tinnitus. However, differences in demographic, health, and lifestyle factors could also contribute to high levels of hearing difficulties and tinnitus in some industries. Data from a subsample (n?=?22,936) of the U.K. Biobank were analyzed to determine to what extent differences in levels of hearing difficulties and tinnitus in high-risk industries (construction, agricultural, and music) compared with low-risk industries (finance) could be attributable to demographic, health, and lifestyle factors, rather than occupational noise exposure. Hearing difficulties were identified using a digits-in-noise speech recognition test. Tinnitus was identified based on self-report. Logistic regression analyses showed that occupational noise exposure partially accounted for higher levels of hearing difficulties in the agricultural industry compared with finance, and occupational noise exposure, older age, low socioeconomic status, and non-White ethnic background partially accounted for higher levels of hearing difficulties in the construction industry. However, the factors assessed in the model did not fully account for the increased likelihood of hearing difficulties in high-risk industries, suggesting that there are additional unknown factors which impact on hearing or that there was insufficient measurement of factors included in the model. The levels of tinnitus were greatest for music and construction industries compared with finance, and these differences were accounted for by occupational and music noise exposure, as well as older age. These findings emphasize the need to promote hearing conservation in occupational and music settings, with a particular focus on high-risk demographic subgroups.

SUBMITTER: Couth S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6868580 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan-Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Hearing Difficulties and Tinnitus in Construction, Agricultural, Music, and Finance Industries: Contributions of Demographic, Health, and Lifestyle Factors.

Couth Samuel S Mazlan Naadia N Moore David R DR Munro Kevin J KJ Dawes Piers P

Trends in hearing 20190101

High levels of occupational noise exposure increase the risk of hearing difficulties and tinnitus. However, differences in demographic, health, and lifestyle factors could also contribute to high levels of hearing difficulties and tinnitus in some industries. Data from a subsample (n = 22,936) of the U.K. Biobank were analyzed to determine to what extent differences in levels of hearing difficulties and tinnitus in high-risk industries (construction, agricultural, and music) compared with low-ri ...[more]

PMID: 31747526

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Project description:ObjectivesDiet may affect susceptibility of the inner ear to noise and age-related effects that lead to tinnitus and hearing loss. This study used complementary single nutrient and dietary pattern analysis based on statistical grouping of usual dietary intake in a cross-sectional analysis of tinnitus and hearing difficulties in a large population study sample.DesignThe research was conducted using the UK Biobank resource. Tinnitus was based on report of ringing or buzzing in one or both ears that lasts more than five minutes at a time and is currently experienced at least some of the time. Identification of a hearing problem was based on self-reported difficulties with hearing. Usual dietary intake and dietary patterns (involving statistical grouping of intake to account for how foods are combined in real-life diets) were estimated based on between two and five administrations of the Oxford Web-Q 24-hour dietary recall questionnaire over the course of a year for 34,576 UK adult participants aged 40 to 69.ResultsIn a multivariate model, higher intake of vitamin B12 was associated with reduced odds of tinnitus, while higher intakes of calcium, iron, and fat were associated with increased odds (B12, odds ratio [OR] 0.85, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.75 to 0.97; Calcium, OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.34; Iron, OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.37; Fat, OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.09 to 1.62, respectively, for quintile 5 versus quintile 1). A dietary pattern characterised by high protein intake was associated with reduced odds of tinnitus (OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.82 to 0.99 for quintile 5 versus quintile 1). Higher vitamin D intake was associated with reduced odds of hearing difficulties (OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.81 to 1.00 for quintile 5 versus quintile 1), as were dietary patterns high in fruit and vegetables and meat and low in fat (Prudent diet: OR 0.89, 95% CI 0.83 to 0.96; High protein: OR 0.88, 95% CI 0.82 to 0.95; High fat: OR 1.16, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.24, respectively, for quintile 5 versus quintile 1).ConclusionsThere were associations between both single nutrients and dietary patterns with tinnitus and hearing difficulties. Although the size of the associations was small, universal exposure for dietary factors indicates that there may be a substantial impact of diet on levels of tinnitus and hearing difficulties in the population. This study showed that dietary factors might be important for hearing health.

Project description:Tinnitus affects more than 40 million people in the Unites States, and cognitive difficulties are among the most commonly associated symptoms.To test the feasibility and preliminarily the effectiveness of using a putative neuroplasticity-enhancing drug, D-cycloserine, to facilitate a computer-assisted CT program for improving tinnitus bother and related cognitive difficulties.Double-blind, randomized clinical trial at an outpatient academic medical center of 34 participants aged 35 to 65 years with subjective, unilateral or bilateral, nonpulsatile tinnitus of at least 6 months' duration.Five weeks of twice-weekly computer-based CT with either 250 mg D-cycloserine or placebo orally prior to computer CT sessions.Difference in the change in Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI) score between the 2 groups.After excluding 1 participant lost to follow-up, 1 who withdrew, 1 who did not complete 90% of sessions, and 1 outlier, 30 participants were included in the analysis. The D-cycloserine plus CT group showed a significant improvement in median TFI score (-5.8 [95% CI, -9.4 to -1.1]) and self-reported cognitive deficits (-4.5 [95% CI, -11.5 to -1.0]), but the placebo group did not (-1.0 [95% CI, -11.7 to 4.9] and -2.0 [95% CI, -5.1 to 2.0], respectively). After controlling for age and duration of tinnitus, there was no significant difference in TFI score change between the 2 groups (P = .41). After confounders were controlled for, the D-cycloserine group demonstrated a significantly greater improvement in self-reported cognitive deficits as compared with the placebo group (P = .03). No serious adverse events were reported.Use of a computer-based CT program with a putative neuroplasticity-sensitizing drug, D-cycloserine, was feasible and well tolerated. With the limited sample size, the adjuvant use of D-cycloserine was no more effective than placebo at improving tinnitus bother. The finding that D-cycloserine use was more effective than placebo at improving self-reported cognitive difficulties could be important given the high rate of concern for cognitive deficits in patients with tinnitus. D-cycloserine and other putative neuroplasticity-facilitating agents could be investigated in the future as a strategy to enhance neuroplasticity-based tinnitus treatments.clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01550796.

Project description:BackgroundTinnitus is described as the perception of sound or noise in the absence of real acoustic stimulation. In the current absence of a cure for tinnitus, clinical management typically focuses on reducing the effects of co-morbid symptoms such as distress or hearing loss. Hearing loss is commonly co-morbid with tinnitus and so logic implies that amplification of external sounds by hearing aids will reduce perception of the tinnitus sound and the distress associated with it.ObjectivesTo assess the effects of hearing aids specifically in terms of tinnitus benefit in patients with tinnitus and co-existing hearing loss.Search methodsWe searched the Cochrane Ear, Nose and Throat Disorders Group Trials Register; the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL); PubMed; EMBASE; CINAHL; Web of Science; Cambridge Scientific Abstracts; ICTRP and additional sources for published and unpublished trials. The date of the search was 19 August 2013.Selection criteriaRandomised controlled trials and non-randomised controlled trials recruiting adults with subjective tinnitus and some degree of hearing loss, where the intervention involves amplification with hearing aids and this is compared to interventions involving other medical devices, other forms of standard or complementary therapy, or combinations of therapies, no intervention or placebo interventions.Data collection and analysisThree authors independently screened all selected abstracts. Two authors independently extracted data and assessed those potentially suitable studies for risk of bias. For studies meeting the inclusion criteria, we used the mean difference (MD) to compare hearing aids with other interventions and controls.Main resultsOne randomised controlled trial (91 participants) was included in this review. We judged the trial to have a low risk of bias for method of randomisation and outcome reporting, and an unclear risk of bias for other criteria. No non-randomised controlled trials meeting our inclusion criteria were identified. The included study measured change in tinnitus severity (primary measure of interest) using a tinnitus questionnaire measure, and change in tinnitus loudness (secondary measure of interest) on a visual analogue scale. Other secondary outcome measures of interest, namely change in the psychoacoustic characteristics of tinnitus, change in self reported anxiety, depression and quality of life, and change in neurophysiological measures, were not investigated in this study. The included study compared hearing aid use to sound generator use. The estimated effect on change in tinnitus loudness or severity as measured by the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory score was compatible with benefits for both hearing aids or sound generators but no difference was found between the two alternative treatments (MD -0.90, 95% confidence interval (CI) -7.92 to 6.12) (100-point scale); moderate quality evidence. No negative or adverse events were reported.Authors' conclusionsThe current evidence base for hearing aid prescription for tinnitus is limited. To be useful, future studies should make appropriate use of blinding and be consistent in their use of outcome measures. Whilst hearing aids are sometimes prescribed as part of tinnitus management, there is currently no evidence to support or refute their use as a more routine intervention for tinnitus.

Project description:Measurement of outcomes has become increasingly important to assess the benefit of audiologic rehabilitation, including hearing aids, in adults. Data from questionnaires, however, are based on retrospective recall of events and experiences, and often can be inaccurate. Questionnaires also do not capture the daily variation that typically occurs in relevant events and experiences. Clinical researchers in a variety of fields have turned to a methodology known as ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to assess quotidian experiences associated with health problems. The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of using EMA to obtain real-time responses from hearing aid users describing their experiences with challenging hearing situations.This study required three phases: (1) develop EMA methodology to assess hearing difficulties experienced by hearing aid users; (2) make use of focus groups to refine the methodology; and (3) test the methodology with 24 hearing aid users. Phase 3 participants carried a personal digital assistant 12 hr per day for 2 weeks. The personal digital assistant alerted participants to respond to questions four times a day. Each assessment started with a question to determine whether a hearing problem was experienced since the last alert. If "yes," then up to 23 questions (depending on contingent response branching) obtained details about the situation. If "no," then up to 11 questions obtained information that would help to explain why hearing was not a problem. Each participant completed the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly (HHIE) both before and after the 2-week EMA testing period to evaluate for "reactivity" (exacerbation of self-perceived hearing problems that could result from the repeated assessments).Participants responded to the alerts with a 77% compliance rate, providing a total of 991 completed momentary assessments (mean = 43.1 per participant). A substantial amount of data were obtained with the methodology. It is important to note that participants reported a "hearing problem situation since the last alert" 37.6% of the time (372 responses). The most common problem situation involved "face-to-face conversation" (53.8% of the time). The next most common problem situation was "telephone conversation" (17.2%) followed by "TV, radio, iPod, etc." (15.3%), "environmental sounds" (9.7%), and "movies, lecture, etc." (4.0%). Comparison of pre- and post-EMA mean HHIE scores revealed no significant difference (p > 0.05), indicating that reactivity did not occur for this group. It should be noted, however, that 37.5% of participants reported a greater sense of awareness regarding their hearing loss and use of hearing aids.Results showed participants were compliant, gave positive feedback, and did not demonstrate reactivity based on pre- and post-HHIE scores. We conclude that EMA methodology is feasible with patients who use hearing aids and could potentially inform hearing healthcare (HHC) services. The next step is to develop and evaluate EMA protocols that provide detailed daily patient information to audiologists at each stage of HHC. The advantages of such an approach would be to obtain real-life outcome measures, and to determine within- and between-day variability in outcomes and associated factors. Such information at present is not available from patients who seek and use HHC services.

Project description:Background: Suffering from tinnitus causes mental distress in most patients. Recent findings point toward a diminished activity of the brain's default-mode network (DMN) in subjects with mental disorders including depression or anxiety and also recently in subjects with tinnitus-related distress. We recently developed a therapeutic intervention, namely the Heidelberg Neuro-Music Therapy (HNMT), which shows an effective reduction of tinnitus-related distress following a 1-week short-term treatment. This approach offers the possibility to evaluate the neural changes associated with the improvements in tinnitus distress. We previously reported gray matter (GM) reorganization in DMN regions and in primary auditory areas following HNMT in cases of recent-onset tinnitus. Here we evaluate on the same patient group, using functional MRI (fMRI), the activity of the DMN following the improvements tinnitus-related distress related to the HNMT intervention. Methods: The DMN activity was estimated by the task-negative activation (TNA) during long inter-trial intervals in a word recognition task. The level of TNA was evaluated twice, before and after the 1-week study period, in 18 treated tinnitus patients ("treatment group," TG), 21 passive tinnitus controls (PTC), and 22 active healthy controls (AC). During the study, the participants in TG and AC groups were treated with HNMT, whereas PTC patients did not receive any tinnitus-specific treatment. Therapy-related effects on DMN activity were assessed by comparing the pairs of fMRI records from the TG and PTC groups. Results: Treatment of the TG group with HNMT resulted in an augmented DMN activity in the PCC by 2.5% whereas no change was found in AC and PTC groups. This enhancement of PCC activity correlated with a reduction in tinnitus distress (Spearman Rho: -0.5; p < 0.005). Conclusion: Our findings show that an increased DMN activity, especially in the PCC, underlies the improvements in tinnitus-related distress triggered by HNMT and identify the DMN as an important network involved in therapeutic improvements.

Project description:ObjectivesTinnitus and hearing loss commonly coexist, however, the temporal relation between tinnitus and hearing loss is complex and not fully understood. Our objective was to examine the longitudinal association between persistent tinnitus, bothersome tinnitus, and 3-year elevation of audiometric hearing thresholds.DesignWe conducted a longitudinal cohort study among 3106 women (mean age 59 years) who were participants in the Nurses' Health Study II (2012-2018). Information on tinnitus was obtained from biennial questionnaires. Longitudinal changes in air conduction thresholds (0.5 to 8 kHz) were assessed by pure-tone audiometry conducted by licensed audiologists at 19 audiology testing sites across the United States. Logistic regression was used to estimate multivariable-adjusted odds ratios (MVORs, 95% confidence interval [CI]) and evaluate the relations of persistent tinnitus (several days per week or more), bothersome tinnitus (interferes with work, sleep, or daily activities), and risk of 3-year elevation of hearing thresholds.ResultsPersistent tinnitus was associated with higher risk of 3-year elevation of hearing thresholds across a broad range of frequencies. Compared with women without tinnitus, the MVORs (95% CI) for ≥5-dB threshold elevation among women with persistent tinnitus were 1.01 (0.81, 1.25) at 0.5 kHz, 1.45 (1.17, 1.81) at 1 kHz, 1.25 (1.00, 1.56) at 2 kHz, 1.34 (1.07, 1.69) at 3 kHz, 1.34 (1.06, 1.70) at 4 kHz, 1.49 (1.16, 1.91) at 6 kHz, and 1.63 (1.25, 2.12) at 8 kHz. The magnitudes of the associations for ≥10-dB threshold elevation were similar. The magnitudes of the associations were substantially greater among women with bothersome tinnitus. For example, compared with women without tinnitus, the MVORs (95% CI) for a ≥5- and ≥10-dB elevation of hearing thresholds at 4 kHz were 2.97 (1.50, 5.89) and 2.79 (1.38, 5.65), respectively. The risk was elevated even among women with tinnitus who had clinically normal hearing thresholds at baseline. In analyses that examined the association of tinnitus and elevation of low-, mid- and high-frequency pure-tone average (PTA) hearing thresholds, the results were similar. Compared with women without tinnitus, the MVORs (95% CI) for ≥5-dB PTA elevation among women with persistent tinnitus were 1.29 (0.99,1.67) for LPTA(0.5,1,2 kHz); 1.44 (1.16, 1.78) for MPTA(3,4 kHz); and 1.38 (1.11, 1.71) for HPTA(6,8 kHz). For ≥10-dB elevation, the MVORs were 2.85 (1.55, 5.23), 1.52 (1.10, 2.09), and 1.41 (1.10, 1.82), respectively.ConclusionPersistent tinnitus was associated with substantially higher risk of 3-year hearing threshold elevation, even among women with clinically normal baseline hearing. The magnitudes of the associations were greater among those with bothersome tinnitus. Monitoring hearing sensitivities may be indicated in patients with tinnitus, including those without audiometric evidence of hearing impairment.

Dataset Information

Hearing Difficulties and Tinnitus in Construction, Agricultural, Music, and Finance Industries: Contributions of Demographic, Health, and Lifestyle Factors.

Publications

Hearing Difficulties and Tinnitus in Construction, Agricultural, Music, and Finance Industries: Contributions of Demographic, Health, and Lifestyle Factors.

Similar Datasets

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