Hearing Difficulties and Tinnitus in Construction, Agricultural, Music, and Finance Industries: Contributions of Demographic, Health, and Lifestyle Factors.

The study was retrospective and cross-sectional, so it can show associations at one time point but cannot show that noise exposure caused hearing difficulties or tinnitus. Only people who were currently employed or self-employed were included, and previous job history was not captured, so past occupational noise exposure may not match the industry listed. The U.K. Biobank sample had a 5.5% response rate and was healthier and more affluent than the general population, so rates may not represent all workers. Noise exposure was measured with self-report questions about shouting to be heard, which may miss moderate occupational noise exposure and does not give precise intensity or duration. Hearing and tinnitus measures were added part way through data collection, so not all participants had these outcomes; the music group was also small at 395 participants. The models accounted for only a small proportion of the variance in hearing difficulties and tinnitus, so important factors such as chemical exposure or detailed lifetime noise history may be missing.

The supplied text does not report author conflicts of interest. The article is listed as supported by non-U.S. government sources.

Do not conclude that musicians have more hearing difficulties than finance workers. In this study, music workers did not have significantly higher hearing difficulties than finance workers, and their unadjusted hearing-difficulty percentage was lower than the finance percentage.