Does Exposure to Noise During Military Service Affect the Progression of Hearing Loss with Increasing Age?
Brian C J Moore, David A Lowe
PMID 35128984WHAT IT FOUND
In 29 veterans, faster hearing decline after military service was seen mainly when end-of-service hearing loss was mild or absent.
The average acceleration was about 1.7 dB/year more than expected.
Key findings
01On average, the actual rate of hearing threshold change after military service exceeded the expected rate at every tested frequency and for both ears.
02When end-of-service threshold was 0 dB HL, fitted acceleration averaged 1.7 dB/year at 3, 4, 6 and 8 kHz.
03For end-of-service thresholds of 50 dB HL or more, differences between actual and expected rates were roughly equally often positive and negative.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
All participants were men who were claiming compensation for noise-induced hearing loss, so they may not represent other veterans or people exposed to noise outside the military. The sample was small, with 29 veterans. There was no age-matched non-exposed control group; expected rates came from published reference databases. Some comparison databases included men with military service or noise exposure, so they may not fully represent non-exposed ageing. The study did not determine whether steady factory noise or recreational noise causes the same acceleration.
Declared interests
Funded by the Medical Research Council (grant G0701870). The authors declared they provide reports in medico-legal cases involving claims for compensation for noise-induced hearing loss.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that military noise exposure accelerates hearing loss in every exposed person. The acceleration was mainly shown for veterans whose end-of-service hearing loss was mild or absent, and the study had no non-exposed control group and only 29 compensation claimants.