Is jet fuel exposure associated with central auditory nervous system difficulties: An exploratory study in military personnel

Abstract

Central auditory nervous system dysfunction (CANSD) can manifest as hearing difficulty in the absence of audiometric abnormalities. Effects of noise or jet fuel exposure on the CANS are documented in animal models and humans. This study screened military personnel using the modified Amsterdam Inventory for Auditory Disability (mAIAD) to assess whether concurrent jet fuel and noise (JFN) exposures potentiate central auditory difficulties compared to noise only exposures. A total of 48 age- and sex-matched participants were recruited: 24 military bulk fuel specialists (JFN) and 24 military personnel without jet fuel exposure. All participants completed the mAIAD, the Noise Exposure Questionnaire, and basic audiological testing. Results revealed non-significant differences in pure-tone thresholds between groups, but the JFN group had higher noise exposures. Additionally, the JFN group revealed consistently lower mAIAD scores compared to the noise only group. Interestingly, a JFN stratified subgroup reporting more listening difficulty exhibited statistically significant lower mAIAD scores in the speech intelligibility in noise subdomain. These preliminary data suggest that jet fuel exposure may potentiate noise-induced CANSD, such as speech-in-noise difficulties. Such difficulties may be more prominent among specific military personnel with combined exposures. Hearing conservation programs could add CANSD screening by use of the mAIAD.

Testing the reliability and validity of the modified Amsterdam Inventory for Auditory Disability and Handicap in career firefighters in the United States

“…In the current study, the (m)AIADH showed discriminative ability between the group with good perceived hearing and the group with bad perceived hearing. This corroborates the Dreisbach et al 25 study that revealed participants with more listening difficulty demonstrated worse (m)AIADH scores. Another study conducted by Fuente et al 26 also reported similar findings, which showed a solvent‐exposed group had poorer hearing than the nonexposed and the (m)AIADH was able to differentiate those two groups.…”

“…In the current study, the (m)AIADH showed discriminative ability between the group with good perceived hearing and the group with bad perceived hearing. This corroborates the Dreisbach et al 25 This study also demonstrated satisfactory convergent and criterion validity of the (m)AIADH. The worse the firefighters perceived their hearing level, the higher the scores of (m)AIADH.…”

Audiological Tests Used in the Evaluation of the Effects of Solvents on the Human Auditory System: A Mixed Methods Review

“…In addition, the authors determined the AIADH scores were significantly associated with pure-tone thresholds and RGD results. A recent study by Dreisbach et al 49 reported consistent and marked lower scores of a modified AIADH version for a group of military personnel exposed to jet-fuels, when compared to a control group.…”