Veterans Affairs (VA) Rehabilitation Research & Development (RR&D) National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research, VA Portland Health Care System (VAPORHCS), Portland, OR, USA.
School of Audiology, Pacific University, Hillsboro, OR, USA.
Int J Audiol. 2023 Jan;62(1):44-52. doi: 10.1080/14992027.2021.2017494. Epub 2022 Jul 12.
This study evaluated the influence of tinnitus and hearing loss on the functional status of military Service members and Veterans.
Participants completed audiologic testing and self-report instruments to assess tinnitus, hearing, and general functioning. We conducted multiple linear regression analyses using cross-sectional data with functional status as the dependent variable. The primary independent variables were tinnitus and average low-, high-, and extended high-frequency hearing thresholds. Secondary independent variables were subjective tinnitus severity and hearing difficulties. Each of the independent variables was modelled separately for Service members and Veterans; covariates for each multivariable model were identified and, depending on the association being modelled, included age, gender, blast-wave exposure, and history of military traumatic brain injury.
Data were analysed from 283 Service members and 390 Veterans.
After controlling for potential confounders, presence of tinnitus, tinnitus severity, average low-frequency hearing thresholds, and subjective hearing difficulties were significantly associated with functional status in Service members and Veterans.
These results suggest that tinnitus and poorer low-frequency hearing, and the perceived severity of tinnitus and hearing difficulties, may be associated with poorer functional status among Service members and Veterans.
本研究评估了耳鸣和听力损失对现役军人和退役军人功能状态的影响。
参与者完成了听力测试和自我报告工具，以评估耳鸣、听力和一般功能。我们使用横断面数据进行了多元线性回归分析，将功能状态作为因变量。主要的独立变量是耳鸣和平均低频、高频和扩展高频听力阈值。次要的独立变量是主观耳鸣严重程度和听力困难。每个独立变量都分别针对现役军人和退役军人进行建模；为每个多变量模型确定了协变量，并且取决于正在建模的关联，包括年龄、性别、爆炸波暴露和军事性脑外伤史。
对 283 名现役军人和 390 名退役军人的数据进行了分析。
在控制潜在混杂因素后，耳鸣的存在、耳鸣严重程度、平均低频听力阈值以及主观听力困难与现役军人和退役军人的功能状态显著相关。
这些结果表明，耳鸣和较差的低频听力，以及对耳鸣和听力困难的严重程度的感知，可能与现役军人和退役军人的功能状态较差有关。
