title: Association Between Childhood Hearing Disorders and Tinnitus in Adulthood.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The association between childhood hearing disorders and adult tinnitus has not been examined in longitudinal cohort studies.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the association between different types of childhood hearing loss and tinnitus in adulthood and evaluate whether tinnitus risk is mediated by adult hearing loss.
  
  
  METHODS
  Population-based cohort study of 32 430 adults (aged 20-56 years) who underwent pure-tone audiometry and completed a tinnitus questionnaire in the Nord-Trøndelag Hearing Loss Study, which was a part of the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study 2 (HUNT2). The study was conducted from January 1, 2014, to April 1, 2015. Data analysis was performed from April 1, 2014, to April 1, 2015. As children, the same individuals had undergone screening audiometry in a longitudinal primary school hearing investigation, including ear, nose, and throat examinations when indicated.
  
  
  METHODS
  Pure-tone audiometry, questionnaires, and ear, nose, and throat examinations.
  
  
  METHODS
  Self-reported tinnitus (yes or no) in adulthood measured by questionnaires.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Adults who had hearing loss at the time of the school investigation (n = 3026) reported more tinnitus, measured as odds ratio (95% CI), than did adults with normal childhood hearing (n = 29 404) (1.4 [1.3-1.6]). Childhood hearing disorders associated with tinnitus in adulthood included sensorineural hearing loss, chronic suppurative otitis media, and hearing loss associated with a history of recurrent acute otitis media (2.4 [1.9-3.0], 2.4 [1.5-3.9], and 1.6 [1.3-2.0], respectively). These estimates were adjusted for age, sex, and noise exposure in adulthood. After further analyses that included adjustment for adult hearing threshold, none of these childhood hearing disorders remained positively associated with tinnitus.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Childhood hearing disorders associated with tinnitus in adulthood include sensorineural hearing loss, chronic suppurative otitis media, and hearing loss associated with a history of recurrent acute otitis media. After adjustment for the adult hearing threshold, none of the childhood hearing disorders was positively associated with tinnitus. Hence, it appears that these significant associations are mediated or transmitted through adult hearing loss.
authors.affiliation: Division of Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Aarhus
authors.affiliation: Division of Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Engdahl
authors.affiliation: Division of Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Kristian
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tambs
authors.affiliation: Division of Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kvestad
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology and Statistics Program, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
authors.forename: Howard J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Hoffman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D010033:Otitis Media / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055815:Young Adult