Prevalence of Self-Reported Bothersome Tinnitus in U.S. Army Soldiers From January 1, 2015, Through September 30, 2019.

Autor: Sherlock LP; Hearing Conservation and Readiness Branch, U.S. Army Public Health Center, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD.; Audiology and Speech Pathology Center, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD., Gibson KJ; Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division, Defense Health Agency, Falls Church, VA., Talian DS; Hearing Conservation and Readiness Branch, U.S. Army Public Health Center, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD.; Audiology and Speech Pathology Center, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD., Lake DC; Hearing Conservation and Readiness Branch, U.S. Army Public Health Center, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: American journal of audiology [Am J Audiol] 2023 Jun; Vol. 32 (2), pp. 323-333. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Mar 20.
DOI: 10.1044/2022_AJA-22-00201
Abstrakt: Purpose: Tinnitus is a symptom of auditory dysfunction or injury and can be a precursor to permanent hearing loss. Tinnitus can interfere with communication, sleep, concentration, and mood; when this occurs, it is referred to as bothersome tinnitus. Annual hearing surveillance in the U.S. Army includes screening for bothersome tinnitus. Estimating the prevalence of self-reported bothersome tinnitus can facilitate prioritization of prevention and education efforts. The objective of this study was to examine Army hearing conservation data to estimate the prevalence of self-reported bothersome tinnitus as a function of age, hearing, sex, service component, and pay grade.
Method: The study employed a cross-sectional, retrospective design. Records from 1,485,059 U.S. Army Soldiers retrieved from the Defense Occupational and Environmental Health Readiness System-Hearing Conservation were analyzed. Descriptive statistics and multinomial logistic regression analysis were used to estimate the prevalence of bothersome tinnitus and its associations with Soldiers' demographic characteristics.
Results: The estimated prevalence of self-reported bothersome tinnitus was 17.1% between January 1, 2015, and September 30, 2019; 13.6% of the Soldiers reported "bothered a little" and 3.5% reported "bothered a lot." Proportionally, the prevalence of self-reported bothersome tinnitus was higher for males, older Soldiers, and Reserve Component Soldiers. For every 1-year increase in age, the odds of self-reporting "bothered a little" tinnitus relative to "bothered not at all tinnitus" would be expected to increase by 2.2% (2.1%, 2.3%), and the odds of self-reporting "bothered a lot" tinnitus relative to "bothered not at all" tinnitus would be expected to increase by 3.6% (3.5%, 3.7%).
Conclusions: The self-reported prevalence of bothersome tinnitus in the U.S. Army (17.1%) is substantially higher than that of the general population, where prevalence of bothersome tinnitus is estimated at 6.6%. Examination of bothersome tinnitus among Soldiers is an important step toward optimizing prevention, education, and intervention efforts.
Databáze: MEDLINE
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