Potential Risks to Hearing Functions of Service Members From Exposure to Jet Fuels.
Thais C Morata, Michelle Hungerford, Dawn Konrad-Martin
PMID 34407375WHAT IT FOUND
This article reviews potential hearing risks from jet fuel exposure but presents no new clinical data.
It suggests audiologists screen for chemical exposure history and consider central auditory processing tests when patients report difficulties not explained by standard audiograms.
What this paper is
This is a narrative review and clinical guidance article discussing potential risks of jet fuel exposure to hearing. It summarizes existing literature and offers recommendations for audiologists but does not report original patient data, methods, or results. Therefore, there are no new clinical findings to act on.
Declared interests
One author is listed as a co-inventor on a patent for a hearing testing device that generates no revenue. The other authors declared no competing interests.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the recommendations for central auditory testing as evidence that jet fuel exposure causes specific measurable deficits. The article states that causation is not established and that the effects are not specific.