Hostname: page-component-6766d58669-nf276 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-05-14T16:24:22.362Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Sociodemographic correlates of occupational, recreational and firearm noise exposure among adults in the USA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 February 2020

A P Knewitz ,
M C Simpson ,
D A Harris ,
J M Sappington  and
N Osazuwa-Peters
A P Knewitz
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Missouri, USA
M C Simpson
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Missouri, USA
D A Harris
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Missouri, USA
J M Sappington
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Missouri, USA
N Osazuwa-Peters*
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Missouri, USA
*
Author for correspondence: Dr Nosayaba Osazuwa-Peters, Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, 3635 Vista Avenue, 6FDT, St Louis, MO63110-2539, USA E-mail: nosazuwa@slu.edu Fax: +1 (314) 268 7401
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective

To determine sociodemographic factors associated with occupational, recreational and firearm-related noise exposure.

Methods

This nationally representative, multistage, stratified, cluster cross-sectional study sampled eligible National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey participants aged 20–69 years (n = 4675) about exposure to occupational and recreational noise and recurrent firearm usage, using a weighted multivariate logistic regression analysis.

Results

Thirty-four per cent of participants had exposure to occupational noise and 12 per cent to recreational noise, and 13 per cent repeatedly used firearms. Males were more likely than females to have exposure to all three noise types (adjusted odds ratio range = 2.63–14.09). Hispanics and Asians were less likely to have exposure to the three noise types than Whites. Blacks were less likely than Whites to have occupational and recurrent firearm noise exposure. Those with insurance were 26 per cent less likely to have exposure to occupational noise than those without insurance (adjusted odds ratio = 0.74, 95 per cent confidence interval = 0.60–0.93).

Conclusion

Whites, males and uninsured people are more likely to have exposure to potentially hazardous loud noise.

Keywords

Noise ExposureSocial Determinants of HealthFirearm NoiseRecreational NoiseOccupational NoiseNHANES

Information

Type
Main Articles
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 134 , Issue 2 , February 2020 , pp. 121 - 127
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited, 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

Footnotes

Dr N Osazuwa-Peters takes responsibility for the integrity of the content of the paper

Presented in part at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting and Expo, 10–14 November 2018, San Diego, California, USA.

References

Basner, M, Babisch, W, Davis, A, Brink, M, Clark, C, Janssen, S et al. Auditory and non-auditory effects of noise on health. Lancet 2014;383:1325–32CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Masterson, EA, Bushnell, PT, Themann, CL, Morata, TC. Hearing impairment among noise-exposed workers - United States, 2003–2012. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2016;65:389–94CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Agrawal, Y, Platz, EA, Niparko, JK. Risk factors for hearing loss in US adults: data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999 to 2002. Otol Neurotol 2009;30:139–45CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Alberti, P. Noise, the most ubiquitous pollutant. Noise Health 1998;1:3–5Google ScholarPubMed
Johnson, TA, Cooper, S, Stamper, GC, Chertoff, M. Noise Exposure Questionnaire (NEQ): a tool for quantifying annual noise exposure. J Am Acad Audiol 2017;28:14–35CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chepesiuk, R. Decibel hell: the effects of living in a noisy world. Environ Health Perspect 2005;113:A34–41CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Masterson, EA, Themann, CL, Luckhaupt, SE, Li, J, Calvert, GM. Hearing difficulty and tinnitus among U.S. workers and non-workers in 2007. Am J Ind Med 2016;59:290–300Google ScholarPubMed
Tak, S. Noise, hearing protector use, and hearing loss in American workers. Update: The Newsletter of the Council for Accreditation in Occupational Hearing Conservation 2009;21:5–6Google Scholar
Myers, J, John, AB, Kimball, S, Fruits, T. Prevalence of tinnitus and noise-induced hearing loss in dentists. Noise Health 2016;18:347–54Google ScholarPubMed
Vaisbuch, Y, Alyono, JC, Kandathil, C, Wu, SH, Fitzgerald, MB, Jackler, RK. Occupational noise exposure and risk for noise-induced hearing loss due to temporal bone drilling. Otol Neurotol 2018;39:693–9CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ivory, R, Kane, R, Diaz, RC. Noise-induced hearing loss: a recreational noise perspective. Curr Opin Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2014;22:394–8CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bhatt, JM, Lin, HW, Bhattacharyya, N. Epidemiology of firearm and other noise exposures in the United States. Laryngoscope 2017;127:E340–6CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dalton, DS, Cruickshanks, KJ, Wiley, TL, Klein, BE, Klein, R, Tweed, TS. Association of leisure-time noise exposure and hearing loss. Audiology 2001;40:1–9CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McCombe, AW. Hearing loss in motorcyclists: occupational and medicolegal aspects. J R Soc Med 2003;96:7–9CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carroll, YI, Eichwald, J, Scinicariello, F, Hoffman, HJ, Deitchman, S, Radke, MS et al. Vital signs: noise-induced hearing loss among adults - United States 2011–2012. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2017;66:139–44CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Le Prell, CG, Spankovich, C, Lobarinas, E, Griffiths, SK. Extended high-frequency thresholds in college students: effects of music player use and other recreational noise. J Am Acad Audiol 2013;24:725–39CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rabinowitz, PM. Noise-induced hearing loss. Am Fam Physician 2000;61:2749–56, 2759–60Google ScholarPubMed
Hoffman, HJ, Dobie, RA, Losonczy, KG, Themann, CL, Flamme, GA. Declining prevalence of hearing loss in US adults aged 20 to 69 years. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2017;143:274–85CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cruickshanks, KJ, Dhar, S, Dinces, E, Fifer, RC, Gonzalez, F 2nd, Heiss, G et al. Hearing impairment prevalence and associated risk factors in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2015;141:641–8CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Agrawal, Y, Platz, EA, Niparko, JK. Prevalence of hearing loss and differences by demographic characteristics among US adults: data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999–2004. Arch Intern Med 2008;168:1522–30CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. In: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes/about_nhanes.htm [27 July 2018]Google Scholar
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey: 2011–2012 Data Documentation, Codebook, and Frequencies. Audiometry (AUQ_G). In: https://wwwn.cdc.gov/Nchs/Nhanes/2011-2012/AUQ_G.htm [27 July 2018]Google Scholar
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, Module 3: Weighting. In: https://wwwn.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes/tutorials/module3.aspx [27 July 2018]Google Scholar
Emmett, SD, Francis, HW. The socioeconomic impact of hearing loss in U.S. adults. Otol Neurotol 2015;36:545–50CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pelegrin, AC, Canuet, L, Rodriguez, AA, Morales, MP. Predictive factors of occupational noise-induced hearing loss in Spanish workers: a prospective study. Noise Health 2015;17:343–9CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kerr, MJ, McCullagh, M, Savik, K, Dvorak, LA. Perceived and measured hearing ability in construction laborers and farmers. Am J Ind Med 2003;44:431–7CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Paul, C, Tzelepis, F, Walsh, RA, Girgis, A, King, L, McKenzie, J. Has the investment in public cancer education delivered observable changes in knowledge over the past 10 years? Cancer 2003;97:2931–9CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nondahl, DM, Cruickshanks, KJ, Dalton, DS, Klein, BE, Klein, R, Tweed, TS et al. The use of hearing protection devices by older adults during recreational noise exposure. Noise Health 2006;8:147–53CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Seidman, MD, Standring, RT. Noise and quality of life. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2010;7:3730–8CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zelaya, CE, Lucas, JW, Hoffman, HJ. Self-reported Hearing Trouble in Adults Aged 18 and Over: United States, 2014. NCHS data brief, no 214. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics, 2015Google Scholar
Blackwell, DL, Lucas, JW, Clarke, TC. Summary health statistics for U.S. adults: national health interview survey, 2012. Vital Health Stat 10 2014;(260):1–161Google Scholar
Chen, DS, Betz, J, Yaffe, K, Ayonayon, HN, Kritchevsky, S, Martin, KR et al. Association of hearing impairment with declines in physical functioning and the risk of disability in older adults. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2015;70:654–61CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Huddle, MG, Goman, AM, Kernizan, FC, Foley, DM, Price, C, Frick, KD et al. The economic impact of adult hearing loss: a systematic review. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2017;143:1040–8CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Branas, CC, Flescher, A, Formica, MK, Galea, S, Hennig, N, Liller, KD et al. Academic public health and the firearm crisis: an agenda for action. Am J Public Health 2017;107:365–7CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Galea, S, Vaughan, RD. Learning from the evolving conversation on firearms: a public health of consequence, July 2018. Am J Public Health 2018;108:856–7CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Butkus, R, Doherty, R, Daniel, H; Health and Public Policy Committee of the American College of Physicians. Reducing firearm-related injuries and deaths in the United States: executive summary of a policy position paper from the American college of physicians. Ann Intern Med 2014;160:858–60CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gius, M. An examination of the effects of concealed weapons laws and assault weapons bans on state-level murder rates. Appl Econ Lett 2014;21:265–7CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Planty, M, Truman, J. Firearm Violence, 1993–2011. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics, US Department of Justice, 2013Google Scholar