Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease is a Risk Factor for Sensorineural Hearing Loss: A US Population Study

Abstract

Objectives: The goal of this study is to determine if chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in a national database. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: National sample of the United States population. Patients: Adults with audiometric and spirometry data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Study (NHANES) database. Interventions: None. Methods: A total of 2,464 adults with spirometry and audiometry data from the NHANES database (2009-2012) were studied. Outcome measures included hearing, measured by high-frequency pure tone average (HFPTA; 3, 4, 6, 8 kHz) and low-frequency pure tone average (LFPTA; .5, 1, 2 kHz) frequencies. SNHL was defined as a HFPTA or LFPTA threshold more than 25 decibels (dB) in the better ear. Multivariable regression analyses explored the association between hearing loss and COPD.Results: The prevalence of COPD was 19.8% in individuals with SNHL in the better ear and 4.7% in individuals with normal hearing ( p < 0.001). Presence of COPD was associated with elevated hearing thresholds (worse hearing) at each individual frequency. The presence of COPD was independently associated with a 3.29 dB (95% CI: 1.48, 5.09) increase in HFPTA ( p < 0.001), and 2.32 dB (1.13, 3.50) increase in LFPTA ( p < 0.001) after controlling for medical, social, and environmental covariates. The presence of COPD was independently associated with a 1.85-fold (1.12, 3.06) increased odds of isolated low-frequency SNHL ( p ¼ 0.017). Conclusions: COPD was independently associated with sensorineural hearing loss after controlling for multiple confounding factors. These results contribute to the evidence that COPD and pulmonary dysfunction can be comorbid with hearing decline.

Association Between Tinnitus and Hypertension: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

“…This study did not require institutional review board approval as the NHANES database is publicly available and has deidentified patient information. The NHANES database has been widely used in a number of clinical studies (14)(15)(16)(17).…”

Association Between Speech Reception Threshold in Noise and Multimorbidity: The UK Biobank Study

“…Previous studies have examined the association between HL and some of the specific chronic diseases included in the definition of multimorbidity. [10][11][12][13][14][15][16] For example, Sharma et al, 10 in a cross-sectional analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), observed that COPD was directly associated with HL. A plausible explanation is that an inadequate supply of oxygen to the cochlea could cause ischemic lesions, hindering the conversion process of a mechanical signal to an electrical signal.…”

“…To our knowledge, this is the first study examining the association between hearing function and multimorbidity. Previous studies have examined the association between HL and some of the specific chronic diseases included in the definition of multimorbidity 10‐16 . For example, Sharma et al, 10 in a cross‐sectional analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), observed that COPD was directly associated with HL.…”

“…Hearing loss (HL) is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases in older adults 9 . Some studies have associated HL with a higher prevalence of individual chronic diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), dementia, Parkinson's disease, stroke, depression, osteoarthritis, coronary heart disease, and diabetes 10‐16 . Other studies have found that HL is also associated with impaired physical function, frailty, and disability 17‐21 .…”

Association between COPD and hearing loss with impaired speech recognition: a cross-sectional study.

“…A meta-analysis of 16 articles published until 2018 identified a greater risk of loss of the ability to detect some sound frequencies in individuals with COPD compared to healthy individuals (6). Recently, a cross-sectional epidemiological study in the United States observed a strong association between COPD and sensorineural hearing loss (7), while a cohort study conducted in Norway identified a 50% greater chance of hearing decline in individuals with COPD (8). These studies, however, did not apply tests to identify loss of speech recognition (vocal audiometry); therefore, they did not measure whether individuals would have difficulty communicating.…”