Abstract
BackgroundAlthough previous studies have reported that frequent earphone use and lead exposure are risk factors for hearing loss, most of these studies were limited to small populations or animal experiments. Several studies that presented the joint effect of combined exposure of noise and heavy metal on hearing loss were also mainly conducted on occupational workers exposed to high concentration.ObjectivesWe investigated both the individual and joint effects of earphone use and environmental lead exposure on hearing loss in the Korean general population.MethodsWe analyzed data from 7,596 Koreans provided by the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) during the period 2010–2013. The pure-tone average (PTA) of hearing thresholds at 2, 3, and 4 kHz frequencies was computed, and hearing loss was defined as a PTA ≥ 25 dB in one or both ears.ResultsA dose-response relationship in hearing loss with earphone use time and blood lead level is observed after adjustment for confounding factors. With a 1-hour increase in earphone use time and 1 μg/dL increase in blood lead concentration, the odds of hearing loss increased by 1.19 and 1.43 times, respectively. For hearing loss, the additive and multiplicative effect of earphone use and blood lead level were not statistically significant.ConclusionsEarphone use and environmental lead exposure have an individual effect on hearing loss in the general population. However, the estimated joint effect of earphone use and lead exposure was not statistically significant.
Highlights
Hearing loss is one of the most common chronic disabling conditions [1]
Previous studies have reported that frequent earphone use and lead exposure are risk factors for hearing loss, most of these studies were limited to small populations or animal experiments
Earphone use and environmental lead exposure have an individual effect on hearing loss in the general population
Summary
Hearing loss is one of the most common chronic disabling conditions [1]. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that more than 5.3% (360 million people) of the world’s population suffers from hearing loss [2].Loud noise is a major risk factor for hearing loss, and employees exposed to loud noises in industrial workplaces have been established as a high-risk group [1, 3]. Long-term usage of earphone could induce hearing loss [4, 6], and a few studies have suggested that hearing loss could occur from earphone overuse, regardless of occupational noise exposure [7, 8]. Jones et al suggested that lead (Pb) is an ototoxic heavy metal and that exposure induces degeneration of inner ear receptor cells and decreases in auditory nerve conduction [13]. Previous studies have reported that frequent earphone use and lead exposure are risk factors for hearing loss, most of these studies were limited to small populations or animal experiments. Several studies that presented the joint effect of combined exposure of noise and heavy metal on hearing loss were mainly conducted on occupational workers exposed to high concentration
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