Liu Jiayue, Zou Haotian, Simonsick Eleanor M, Stohl Joshua, Overath Tobias
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, USA.
Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Duke University, Durham, USA.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jul 1;15(1):21962. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-07454-z.
About 10% of audiology patients who experience hearing difficulties in noise have clinically normal hearing thresholds in quiet. While it has been suggested that hearing difficulties in noise might be a precursor for the subsequent development of clinical hearing loss, there is so far no direct evidence that supports this hypothesis. This study aimed to determine whether hearing difficulties in noise, as measured by the Quick Speech in Noise (QuickSIN) test, could be used to identify people at risk of the development and the progression of clinical hearing loss, using a large dataset of 1128 individuals in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA). A linear mixed model analysis revealed that individuals with a poorer QuickSIN score at the preceding audiological assessment were likely to reveal a more substantial deterioration in clinical audiometric thresholds at their subsequent visit than those with a better QuickSIN score at their previous assessment. These findings offer valuable insights for early interventions and monitoring strategies for individuals at risk of hearing loss.
在嘈杂环境中存在听力困难的听力学患者中，约10%在安静环境下的听力阈值在临床上是正常的。虽然有人提出，嘈杂环境中的听力困难可能是临床听力损失后续发展的先兆，但迄今为止，尚无直接证据支持这一假设。本研究旨在利用巴尔的摩老年纵向研究（BLSA）中1128名个体的大型数据集，确定通过噪声环境下快速言语测试（QuickSIN）测量的嘈杂环境中的听力困难是否可用于识别有临床听力损失发生和进展风险的人群。线性混合模型分析显示，在前次听力学评估中QuickSIN得分较差的个体，与前次评估中QuickSIN得分较好的个体相比，在随后的就诊中临床听力阈值可能会出现更显著的恶化。这些发现为有听力损失风险的个体的早期干预和监测策略提供了有价值的见解。
