Environmental Factors for Hearing Loss and Middle Ear Disease in Alaska Native Children and Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Analysis from a Cluster Randomized Trial.
Kelli L Hicks, Samantha Kleindienst Robler, Alyssa Platt and 3 others
PMID 35998103WHAT IT FOUND
Lack of running water was linked to 53% higher prevalence of middle ear disease.
No link was found for hearing loss, wood smoke, or household crowding overall, though crowding affected younger children.
Key findings
01Children in homes without running water had a 53% higher relative prevalence of middle ear disease compared to those with running water.
02There was no significant association found between infection-related hearing loss and household crowding, lack of indoor plumbing, number of smokers, or wood-burning stoves.
03For children aged 3 to 6 years, an increase of one person in the household was associated with higher prevalence of both hearing loss and middle ear disease, a link not seen in older children.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot determine causality or the duration of disease. The analysis was a secondary use of trial data and was not specifically powered to detect environmental effects. Environmental exposures were self-reported, which can lead to measurement error or underreporting (e.g., due to social stigma around smoking). Hearing loss was primarily defined by DPOAE screening, which may differ from pure-tone audiometry results, especially in younger children.
Declared interests
The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health (N.I.H.) and non-U.S. government grants. No specific conflicts of interest involving commercial entities were declared in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that wood-burning stoves or household smoking are significant risk factors for hearing loss in this population, as the study found no evidence for these associations. Also, note that the link between household crowding and hearing issues was only present in children aged 3–6, not in older children.