title: Hearing loss and the risk of disability pension in Norway: the Hunt Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose was to explore the possible associations between measured hearing thresholds and work related disability pension granted for other medical reasons in a Norwegian population.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study included 25,537 persons from the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT) aged 20-54 years at baseline in HUNT1 (1984-1986) who also participated in the follow-up study 11 years later, HUNT2 (1995-1997) that included a hearing examination. Logistic regression analyses of disability pension granted up to 1996 or earlier in life were conducted for men and women separately and in two age strata. Effects of low, middle and high-frequency hearing thresholds were explored, adjusting the effects of each hearing frequency for each other. Further adjustment was made for educational level, category of work (seven categories) and general health in HUNT1.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all, 0.4% (16 of 4306) of the disability pensions granted up to 1996 was due to hearing related diagnoses. The risk of being granted disability pension up to 1996 with registered diagnoses not related to hearing loss increased with degree of loss of low-frequency hearing in young and middle-aged men and middle-aged women (OR 1.72, 95% CI 1.25-2.37; OR 1.16, 95% CI 1.04-1.30; OR 1.11, 95% CI 1.00-1.23).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Hearing loss diagnoses are rarely reported as main causes in disability statistics, however, degree of hearing loss increased the risk of being granted with disability pensioning with diagnoses not related to hearing loss.
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Public Health and General Practice, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway.
authors.forename: Anne-Sofie
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Helvik
authors.forename: Steinar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Krokstad
authors.forename: Kristian
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tambs
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001309:Auditory Threshold / Q000502:physiology; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D018868:Insurance, Disability / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway; D010415:Pensions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Early retirement; general health; hearing disability; hearing impairment; non-employment; socioeconomic status