Illegal Drug Use and Risk of Hearing Loss in the United States: A National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Po-Ting Lin,Kuan-Wei Chiang,I-Hsun Li,Chih-Hung Wang,Li-Ting Kao,Hui-Wen Yang

doi:10.3390/ijerph182211945

Abstract

The use of illegal drugs may be a risk factor of hearing loss. However, very few studies with large sample size have investigated the relationship between illegal drug use and hearing loss. Therefore, to evaluate the association between illegal drug use and hearing loss, this cross-sectional population-based study collected data from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011. The study included 1772 participants aged 20 to 59 years who underwent the Drug Use Questionnaire and Audiometry Examination. Of the 1772 participants in this study, 865 were men (48.8%) and 497 were illegal drug users. The mean (SD) age of the patients was 40.0 (11.4) years. After considering age, sex, and comorbidities, the participants who used illegal drugs were found to have higher risks of high-frequency hearing loss (adjusted odds ratio (OR), 1.69; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.35–2.10) and overall hearing loss (adjusted OR, 1.69; 95% CI, 1.36–2.12) as compared with the nonusers. In the second analysis, the participants who used ≥ 2 types of illegal drugs were associated with higher risks of high-frequency hearing loss (adjusted OR, 1.57; 95% CI, 1.06–2.32) and overall hearing loss (adjusted OR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.08–2.37). In the third analysis, cocaine use was associated with increased risks of high-frequency hearing loss (adjusted OR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.01–1.77) and overall hearing loss (adjusted OR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.04–1.82). The adjusted OR for overall hearing loss in the methamphetamine users was 1.54 (95% CI, 1.05–2.27) as compared with that in the nonusers. This study shows that illegal drug users might have a higher risk of overall hearing loss than nonusers. In addition, the analysis results demonstrated that the more kinds of illegal drugs used, the higher the risk of hearing loss. Further experimental and longitudinal research studies are required to confirm the causal relationship between illegal drug use and hearing loss.

Highlights

Hearing loss is a common chronic disorder and affects approximately 466 million people worldwide [1,2]
The results showed significant differences between the illegal drug users and nonusers in terms of age (p = 0.012), sex (p < 0.001), race (p < 0.001), hypertension (p < 0.001), and ear infection (p < 0.001), but not in terms of the incidence of diabetes (p = 0.954)
We found that the illegal drug users had higher risks of high-frequency hearing loss (OR, 1.32; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.00–1.73) and overall hearing loss (OR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.05–1.82) than the nonusers

Summary

Introduction

Hearing loss is a common chronic disorder and affects approximately 466 million people worldwide [1,2]. In addition to functional problems, hearing loss may contribute to social, vocational, and mental problems [3,4]. Poor auditory sensitivity may result in communication interruptions, and inefficient listening environments commonly lead to more accidents [5]. Some people with hearing loss have lower wages and higher unemployment rates [6].

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Conclusion