title: Age-related hearing decline in individuals with and without occupational noise exposure.
abstract: This study was conducted to compare the pattern of age-related hearing decline in individuals with and without self-reported previous occupational noise exposure. This was a prospective, population-based, longitudinal study of individuals aged 70-75 years, from an epidemiological investigation, comprising three age cohorts. In total there were 1013 subjects (432 men and 581 women). Participants were tested with pure tone audiometry, and they answered a questionnaire to provide information regarding number of years of occupational noise exposure. There were no significant differences in hearing decline, at any frequency, for those aged 70-75 years between the noise-exposed (N= 62 men, 22 women) and the nonexposed groups (N = 96 men, 158 women). This study supports the additive model of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) and age-related hearing loss (ARHL). The concept of different patterns of hearing decline between persons exposed and not exposed to noise could not be verified.
authors.affiliation: Department of Audiology and Neurotology, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm; Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hederstierna
authors.forename: Ulf
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Rosenhall
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D005260:Female; D006317:Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009623:Noise, Occupational / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011304:Presbycusis / Q000209:etiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors