title: Stress and prevalence of hearing problems in the Swedish working population.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Current human and experimental studies are indicating an association between stress and hearing problems; however potential risk factors have not been established. Hearing problems are projected to become among the top ten disabilities according to the WHO in the near future. Therefore a better understanding of the relationships between stress and hearing is warranted. Here we describe the prevalence of two common hearing problems, i.e. hearing complaints and tinnitus, in relation to different work-and health-related stressors.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 18,734 individuals were invited to participate in the study, out of which 9,756 (52%) enrolled.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results demonstrate a clear and mostly linear relationship between higher prevalence of hearing problems (tinnitus or hearing loss or both) and different stressors, e.g. occupational, poorer self-rated health, long-term illness, poorer sleep quality, and higher burnout scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study unambiguously demonstrates associations between hearing problems and various stressors that have not been previously described for the auditory system. These findings will open new avenues for future investigations.
authors.affiliation: Karolinska Institutet, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Stockholm, Sweden. dan.hasson@ki.se
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hasson
authors.forename: Töres
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Theorell
authors.forename: Martin Benka
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Wallén
authors.forename: Constanze
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Leineweber
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Canlon
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002055:Burnout, Professional; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012649:Self Concept; D012890:Sleep; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult