title: Ear diseases and other risk factors for hearing impairment among adults: an epidemiological study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the prevalence of ear diseases, other otological risk factors potentially affecting hearing, and noise exposure among adults. Furthermore, subject-related factors possibly associated with hearing impairment (HI), i.e. handedness, eye color, and susceptibility to sunburn, were studied.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional, unscreened, population-based, epidemiological study among adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  The subjects (n = 850), aged 54-66 years, were randomly sampled from the population register. A questionnaire survey, an otological examination, and pure-tone audiometry were performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Chronic middle-ear disease (both active and inactive) was the most common ear disease with a prevalence of 5.3%, while the prevalence of otosclerosis was 1.3%, and that of Ménière's disease, 0.7%. Noise exposure was reported by 46% of the subjects, and it had no effect on hearing among those with no ear disease or other otological risk factors for HI. Dark eye color and non-susceptibility to sunburn were associated with HI among noise-exposed subjects.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Common ear diseases and other otological risk factors constitute a major part of the etiologies of HI among adults. Contrary to previous studies, noise exposure turned out to have only marginal effect on hearing among those with no otological risk factors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Medicine, Otorhinolaryngology, University of Oulu, Finland. samuli.hannula@oulu.fi
authors.forename: Samuli
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hannula
authors.forename: Risto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bloigu
authors.forename: Kari
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Majamaa
authors.forename: Martti
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sorri
authors.forename: Elina
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mäki-Torkko
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004427:Ear Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005127:Eye Color; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009622:Noise; D038781:Otoscopy; D015995:Prevalence; D012042:Registries; D012307:Risk Factors; D013471:Sunburn / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires