Top

Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology

Published in:

Open Access 01-09-2008

Occupational Noise, Smoking, and a High Body Mass Index are Risk Factors for Age-related Hearing Impairment and Moderate Alcohol Consumption is Protective: A European Population-based Multicenter Study

Authors: Erik Fransen, Vedat Topsakal, Jan-Jaap Hendrickx, Lut Van Laer, Jeroen R. Huyghe, Els Van Eyken, Nele Lemkens, Samuli Hannula, Elina Mäki-Torkko, Mona Jensen, Kelly Demeester, Anke Tropitzsch, Amanda Bonaconsa, Manuela Mazzoli, Angeles Espeso, Katia Verbruggen, Joke Huyghe, Patrick L. M. Huygen, Sylvia Kunst, Minna Manninen, Amalia Diaz-Lacava, Michael Steffens, Thomas F. Wienker, Ilmari Pyykkö, Cor W. R. J. Cremers, Hannie Kremer, Ingeborg Dhooge, Dafydd Stephens, Eva Orzan, Markus Pfister, Michael Bille, Agnete Parving, Martti Sorri, Paul Van de Heyning, Guy Van Camp

Published in: Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology | Issue 3/2008

Abstract

A multicenter study was set up to elucidate the environmental and medical risk factors contributing to age-related hearing impairment (ARHI). Nine subsamples, collected by nine audiological centers across Europe, added up to a total of 4,083 subjects between 53 and 67 years. Audiometric data (pure-tone average [PTA]) were collected and the participants filled out a questionnaire on environmental risk factors and medical history. People with a history of disease that could affect hearing were excluded. PTAs were adjusted for age and sex and tested for association with exposure to risk factors. Noise exposure was associated with a significant loss of hearing at high sound frequencies (>1 kHz). Smoking significantly increased high-frequency hearing loss, and the effect was dose-dependent. The effect of smoking remained significant when accounting for cardiovascular disease events. Taller people had better hearing on average with a more pronounced effect at low sound frequencies (<2 kHz). A high body mass index (BMI) correlated with hearing loss across the frequency range tested. Moderate alcohol consumption was inversely correlated with hearing loss. Significant associations were found in the high as well as in the low frequencies. The results suggest that a healthy lifestyle can protect against age-related hearing impairment.

Available only for authorised users

Barrenas ML, Jonsson B, Tuvemo T, Hellstrom PA, Lundgren M. High risk of sensorineural hearing loss in men born small for gestational age with and without obesity or height catch-up growth: A prospective longitudinal register study on birth size in 245,000 Swedish conscripts. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab 90:4452–4456, 2005.PubMedCrossRef

Brant LJ, Gordon-Salant S, Pearson JD, KLein LL, Morrell CH, Metter EJ, Fozard JL. Risk factors related to age-associated hearing loss in the speech frequencies. J. Am. Acad. Audiol 7:152–160, 1996.PubMed

Burr H, Lund SP, Sperling BB, Kristensen TS, Poulsen OM. Smoking and height as risk factors for prevalence and 5-year incidence of hearing loss. A questionnaire-based follow-up study of employees in Denmark aged 18–59years exposed and unexposed to noise. Int. J. Audiol 44:531–539, 2005.PubMedCrossRef

Chobanian AV, Bakris GL, Black HR, Cushman WC, Green LA, Izzo JL, Jr, Jones DW, Materson BJ, Oparil S, Wright JT, Jr, Roccella EJ. The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure: The JNC 7 report. JAMA 289:2560–2572, 2003.PubMedCrossRef

Clark WW. Noise exposure from leisure activities: A review. J. Acoust. Soc. Am 90:175–181, 1991.PubMedCrossRef

Cruickshanks KJ, Klein R, Klein BE, Wiley TL, Nondahl DM, Tweed TS. Cigarette smoking and hearing loss: The epidemiology of hearing loss study. JAMA 279:1715–1719, 1998.PubMedCrossRef

Davis A. Prevalence of hearing impairment. In: Davis A (ed) Hearing in Adults. London, Whurr, pp. 43–321, 1994.

DeStefano AL, Gates GA, Heard-Costa N, Myers RH, Baldwin CT. Genomewide linkage analysis to presbycusis in the Framingham Heart Study. Arch. Otolaryngol. Head Neck Surg 129:285–289, 2003.PubMed

Dobie RA. Estimating noise-induced permanent threshold shift from audiometric shape: The ISO-1999 model. Ear Hear 26:630–635, 2005.PubMedCrossRef

Engdahl B, Tambs K, Borchgrevink HM, Hoffman HJ. Screened and unscreened hearing threshold levels for the adult population: Results from the Nord-Trondelag Hearing Loss Study. Int. J. Audiol 44:213–230, 2005.PubMedCrossRef

Ferrite S, Santana V. Joint effects of smoking, noise exposure and age on hearing loss. Occup. Med. (Lond) 55:48–53, 2005.CrossRef

Fransen E, Van Laer L, Lemkens N, Caethoven G, Flothmann K, Govaerts P, Van de Heyning P, Van Camp G. A novel Z-score-based method to analyze candidate genes for age-related hearing impairment. Ear Hear 25:133–141, 2004.PubMedCrossRef

Fuente A, McPherson B. Central auditory processing effects induced by solvent exposure. Int. J. Occup. Med. Environ. Health 20:271–279, 2007.PubMedCrossRef

Garringer HJ, Pankratz ND, Nichols WC, Reed T. Hearing impairment susceptibility in elderly men and the DFNA18 locus. Arch. Otolaryngol. Head Neck Surg 132:506–510, 2006.PubMedCrossRef

Gates GA, Cobb JL, D’Agostino RB, Wolf PA. The relation of hearing in the elderly to the presence of cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular risk factors. Arch. Otolaryngol. Head Neck Surg 119:156–161, 1993.PubMed

Gates GA, Couropmitree NN, Myers RH. Genetic associations in age-related hearing thresholds. Arch. Otolaryngol. Head Neck Surg 125:654–659, 1999.PubMed

Gates GA, Schmid P, Kujawa SG, Nam B, D’Agostino R. Longitudinal threshold changes in older men with audiometric notches. Hear. Res 141:220–228, 2000.PubMedCrossRef

Helzner EP, Cauley JA, Pratt SR, Wisniewski SR, Zmuda JM, Talbott EO, de Rekeneire N, Harris TB, Rubin SM, Simonsick EM, Tylavsky FA, Newman AB. Race and sex differences in age-related hearing loss: The Health, Aging and Body Composition Study. J. Am. Geriatr. Soc 53:2119–2127, 2005.PubMedCrossRef

International Organisation of Standardization (1984). International Standard ISO 7029. Acoustics—Threshold of hearing by air conduction as a function of age and sex for otologically normal persons.

Itoh A, Nakashima T, Arao H, Wakai K, Tamakoshi A, Kawamura T, Ohno Y. Smoking and drinking habits as risk factors for hearing loss in the elderly: Epidemiological study of subjects undergoing routine health checks in Aichi, Japan. Public Health 115:192–196, 2001.PubMed

Karlsson KK, Harris JR, Svartengren M. Description and primary results from an audiometric study of male twins. Ear Hear 18:114–120, 1997.PubMedCrossRef

Kujawa SG, Liberman MC. Acceleration of age-related hearing loss by early noise exposure: Evidence of a misspent youth. J. Neurosci 26:2115–2123, 2006.PubMedCrossRef

Kurien M, Thomas K, Bhanu TS. Hearing threshold in patients with diabetes mellitus. J. Laryngol. Otol 103:164–168, 1989.PubMed

Lee FS, Matthews LJ, Dubno JR, Mills JH. Longitudinal study of pure-tone thresholds in older persons. Ear Hear 26:1–11, 2005.PubMedCrossRef

Lutman ME, Davis AC. The distribution of hearing threshold levels in the general population aged 18–30years. Audiology 33:327–350, 1994.PubMedCrossRef

Lutman ME, Spencer HS. Occupational noise and demographic factors in hearing. Acta Otolaryngol. Suppl 476:74–84, 1990.PubMed

Nomura K, Nakao M, Yano E. Hearing loss associated with smoking and occupational noise exposure in a Japanese metal working company. Int. Arch. Occup. Environ. Health 78:178–184, 2005.PubMedCrossRef

Popelka MM, Cruickshanks KJ, Wiley TL, Tweed TS, Klein BE, Klein R, Nondahl DM. Moderate alcohol consumption and hearing loss: A protective effect. J. Am. Geriatr. Soc 48:1273–1278, 2000.PubMed

Robinson DW. Threshold of hearing as a function of age and sex for the typical unscreened population. Br. J. Audiol 22:5–20, 1988.PubMedCrossRef

Rosenhall U, Sixt E, Sundh V, Svanborg A. Correlations between presbyacusis and extrinsic noxious factors. Audiology 32:234–243, 1993.PubMedCrossRef

Sliwinska-Kowalska M, Zamyslowska-Szmytke E, Szymczak W, Kotylo P, Fiszer M, Wesolowski W, Pawlaczyk-Luszczynska M. Ototoxic effects of occupational exposure to styrene and co-exposure to styrene and noise. J. Occup. Environ. Med 45:15–24, 2003.PubMedCrossRef

Sliwinska-Kowalska M, Zamyslowska-Szmytke E, Szymczak W, Kotylo P, Fiszer M, Wesolowski W, Pawlaczyk-Luszczynska M, Bak M, Gajda-Szadkowska A. Effects of coexposure to noise and mixture of organic solvents on hearing in dockyard workers. J. Occup. Environ. Med 46:30–38, 2004.PubMedCrossRef

Stewart M, Konkle DF, Simpson TH. The effect of recreational gunfire noise on hearing in workers exposed to occupational noise. Ear Nose Throat J 80:32–34, 2001, 36, 38–40.PubMed

Torre P, 3rd, Cruickshanks KJ, Klein BE, Klein R, Nondahl DM. The association between cardiovascular disease and cochlear function in older adults. J. Speech Lang. Hear Res 48:473–481, 2005.PubMedCrossRef

Uchida Y, Nakashimat T, Ando F, Niino N, Shimokata H. Is there a relevant effect of noise and smoking on hearing? A population-based aging study. Int. J. Audiol 44:86–91, 2005.PubMedCrossRef

Ünal M, Tamer L, Dogruer ZN, Yildirim H, Vayisoglu Y, Camdeviren H. N-acetyltransferase 2 gene polymorphism and presbycusis. Laryngoscope 115:2238–2241, 2005.PubMedCrossRef

Van Eyken E, Van Laer L, Fransen E, Topsakal V, Lemkens N, Laureys W, Nelissen N, Vandevelde A, Wienker T, Van De Heyning P, Van Camp G. KCNQ4: A gene for age-related hearing impairment? Human Mutat 27:1007–1016, 2006.CrossRef

Van Eyken E, Van Camp G, Fransen E, Topsakal V, Hendrickx JJ, Demeester K, Van de Heyning P, Maki-Torkko E, Hannula S, Sorri M, Jensen M, Parving A, Bille M, Baur M, Pfister M, Bonaconsa A, Mazzoli M, Orzan E, Espeso A, Stephens D, Verbruggen K, Huyghe J, Dhooghe I, Huygen P, Kremer H, Cremers C, Kunst S, Manninen M, Pyykko I, Diaz-Lacava A, Steffens M, Wienker T, Van Laer L. The N-acetyltransferase 2 polymorphism NAT2*6A is a causative factor for age related hearing impairment. J. Med. Genet 44:570–578, 2007.PubMedCrossRef

Van Laer L, Van Eyken E, Fransen E, Huyghe JR, Topsakal V, Hendrickx JJ, Hannula S, Maki-Torkko E, Jensen M, Demeester K, Baur M, Bonaconsa A, Mazzoli M, Espeso A, Verbruggen K, Huyghe J, Huygen P, Kunst S, Manninen M, Konings A, Diaz-Lacava AN, Steffens M, Wienker T, Pyykko I, Cremers CW, Kremer H, Dhooge I, Stephens D, Orzan E, Pfister M, Bille M, Parving A, Sorri M, Van de Heyning PH, Van Camp G. The grainyhead like 2 gene (GRHL2), alias TFCP2L3, is associated with age-related hearing impairment. Hum. Mol. Genet 17:159–169, 2008.PubMedCrossRef

Vaughan N, James K, McDermott D, Griest S, Fausti S. A 5-year prospective study of diabetes and hearing loss in a veteran population. Otol. Neurotol 27:37–43, 2006.PubMedCrossRef

Wild DC, Brewster MJ, Banerjee AR. Noise-induced hearing loss is exacerbated by long-term smoking. Clin. Otolaryngol 30:517–520, 2005.PubMedCrossRef

Title: Occupational Noise, Smoking, and a High Body Mass Index are Risk Factors for Age-related Hearing Impairment and Moderate Alcohol Consumption is Protective: A European Population-based Multicenter Study
Authors: Erik Fransen
Vedat Topsakal
Jan-Jaap Hendrickx
Lut Van Laer
Jeroen R. Huyghe
Els Van Eyken
Nele Lemkens
Samuli Hannula
Elina Mäki-Torkko
Mona Jensen
Kelly Demeester
Anke Tropitzsch
Amanda Bonaconsa
Manuela Mazzoli
Angeles Espeso
Katia Verbruggen
Joke Huyghe
Patrick L. M. Huygen
Sylvia Kunst
Minna Manninen
Amalia Diaz-Lacava
Michael Steffens
Thomas F. Wienker
Ilmari Pyykkö
Cor W. R. J. Cremers
Hannie Kremer
Ingeborg Dhooge
Dafydd Stephens
Eva Orzan
Markus Pfister
Michael Bille
Agnete Parving
Martti Sorri
Paul Van de Heyning
Guy Van Camp
Publication date: 01-09-2008
Publisher: Springer-Verlag
Published in: Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology / Issue 3/2008
Print ISSN: 1525-3961
Electronic ISSN: 1438-7573
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10162-008-0123-1

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Occupational Noise, Smoking, and a High Body Mass Index are Risk Factors for Age-related Hearing Impairment and Moderate Alcohol Consumption is Protective: A European Population-based Multicenter Study

Abstract

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 3/2008

Commentary on “Occupational Noise, Smoking and a High Body Mass Index are Risk Factors for Age-Related Hearing Impairment and Moderate Alcohol Consumption is Protective: a European Population-Based Multicentre Study” by Fransen et al., J. Assoc. Res. Otolaryngol. DOI 10.1007/s10162-008-0123-1

Diverse Synaptic Terminals on Rat Stapedius Motoneurons

Measuring the Perceived Content of Auditory Objects Using a Matching Paradigm

Evidence that Cisplatin-induced Auditory Damage is Attenuated by Downregulation of Pro-inflammatory Cytokines Via Nrf2/HO-1

Functional Prestin Transduction of Immature Outer Hair Cells from Normal and Prestin-Null Mice

Rotational Responses of Vestibular–Nerve Afferents Innervating the Semicircular Canals in the C57BL/6 Mouse