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

Sherlock, LaGuinn P.; Gibson, Kelly J.; Talian, Daniel S.; Lake, Deborah C.

doi:10.1044/2022_aja-22-00201

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

Journal Article · Thu Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 2023 · American Journal of Audiology

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_aja-22-00201· OSTI ID:2425769

Sherlock, LaGuinn P. ^[1]; Gibson, Kelly J. ^[2]; ^[1]; Lake, Deborah C. ^[3]

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
Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division, Defense Health Agency, Falls Church, VA
Hearing Conservation and Readiness Branch, U.S. Army Public Health Center, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD

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.

Research Organization:: Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC)

DOE Contract Number:: SC0014664

OSTI ID:: 2425769

Journal Information:: American Journal of Audiology, Journal Name: American Journal of Audiology Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 32; ISSN 1059-0889

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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