Stress and prevalence of hearing problems in the Swedish working population

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Current human and experimental studies are indicating an association between stress and hearing problems; however potential risk factors have not been established. Hearing problems are projected to become among the top ten disabilities according to the WHO in the near future. Therefore a better understanding of the relationships between stress and hearing is warranted. Here we describe the prevalence of two common hearing problems, i.e. hearing complaints and tinnitus, in relation to different work-and health-related stressors.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 18,734 individuals were invited to participate in the study, out of which 9,756 (52%) enrolled.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The results demonstrate a clear and mostly linear relationship between higher prevalence of hearing problems (tinnitus or hearing loss or both) and different stressors, e.g. occupational, poorer self-rated health, long-term illness, poorer sleep quality, and higher burnout scores.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The present study unambiguously demonstrates associations between hearing problems and various stressors that have not been previously described for the auditory system. These findings will open new avenues for future investigations.</p

Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke among South Korean adults: a cross-sectional study of the 2005 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Studies have identified that environmental tobacco smoke exposure is associated with sociodemographic factors such as age, sex, and socioeconomic status, but few studies have been conducted in South Korea. In this study, the authors investigated the extent of environmental tobacco smoke exposure and factors related in a nationally representative sample of Korean adults.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The data of 7,801 adults aged 19 years and over collected during the 2005 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were analyzed. Information on smoking habits and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke was obtained by self-reports using a standardized questionnaire. Risks of environmental tobacco smoke exposure conferred by sociodemographic variables and behavioral risk factors were evaluated using logistic regression methods.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Overall, 36.1% of nonsmokers (defined as those not currently smoking) and 50.1% of current smokers were found to be exposed to environmental tobacco smoke either at work or at home. Among the nonsmokers, women were more likely to be exposed to environmental tobacco smoke at home (OR = 5.22, 95%CI, 4.08-6.67). Furthermore, an inverse relationship was found between education level and the risk of environmental tobacco smoke exposure at home (OR = 1.73, 95%CI, 1.38-2.17 for those with a high school education; OR = 2.30, 95%CI, 1.68-3.16 for those with a middle school education; and OR = 2.58, 95%CI, 1.85-3.59 for those with less than an elementary school education vs. those with a college education or more). In addition, those with office, sales service, or manual labor jobs were found to be at significantly higher risk of environmental tobacco smoke exposure at work than those with professional, administrative, or managerial jobs. Also, the risk of environmental tobacco smoke exposure in the workplace was significantly higher for alcohol drinkers than non-drinkers (OR = 1.23, 95%CI, 1.07-1.47). After adjusting for age, sex and education, it was found that those exposed to environmental tobacco smoke at home were more likely to have been admitted to hospital during the previous year (OR 1.29, 95%CI, 1.002-1.66).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In this study of Korean adults, exposure to environmental tobacco smoke at home or work was found to be affected by sex, age, marital status, educational level, and type of occupation. Accordingly, these factors should be given appropriate consideration by those developing policies or interventions designed to control exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.</p

Gabapentin for tinnitus: a systematic review.

PURPOSE: The main aim of this study was to assess the effect of gabapentin on tinnitus via a systematic review. METHOD: An electronic search of literature as well as a hand search were conducted. Only double-blind randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that met all of the inclusion criteria were included in this review. The Cochrane Collaboration tool for risk of bias assessment was used to investigate the validity of the included studies. Meta-analysis was not appropriate due to inadequate details in reporting the data in the included studies. Hence, qualitative synthesis and interpretation of the data were carried out. RESULTS: Two studies that met the inclusion criteria were included in the review. Fourteen studies were excluded. There were substantive within-study clinical heterogeneities with regard to the baseline tinnitus handicap scores, duration of tinnitus, and severity of hearing loss in the included double-blind RCTs. CONCLUSION: The authors of both studies reported that gabapentin was not superior to placebo in their primary outcomes. However, following the assessment of risk of bias and within-study clinical heterogeneities, this review concludes that there is insufficient evidence regarding the effect of gabapentin on tinnitus

Tinnitus: Distinguishing between Subjectively Perceived Loudness and Tinnitus-Related Distress

OBJECTIVES: Overall success of current tinnitus therapies is low, which may be due to the heterogeneity of tinnitus patients. Therefore, subclassification of tinnitus patients is expected to improve therapeutic allocation, which, in turn, is hoped to improve therapeutic success for the individual patient. The present study aims to define factors that differentially influence subjectively perceived tinnitus loudness and tinnitus-related distress. METHODS: In a questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey, the data of 4705 individuals with tinnitus were analyzed. The self-report questionnaire contained items about subjective tinnitus loudness, type of onset, awareness and localization of the tinnitus, hearing impairment, chronic comorbidities, sleep quality, and psychometrically validated questionnaires addressing tinnitus-related distress, depressivity, anxiety, and somatic symptom severity. In a binary step-wise logistic regression model, we tested the predictive power of these variables on subjective tinnitus loudness and tinnitus-related distress. RESULTS: The present data contribute to the distinction between subjective tinnitus loudness and tinnitus-related distress. Whereas subjective loudness was associated with permanent awareness and binaural localization of the tinnitus, tinnitus-related distress was associated with depressivity, anxiety, and somatic symptom severity. CONCLUSIONS: Subjective tinnitus loudness and the potential presence of severe depressivity, anxiety, and somatic symptom severity should be assessed separately from tinnitus-related distress. If loud tinnitus is the major complaint together with mild or moderate tinnitus-related distress, therapies should focus on auditory perception. If levels of depressivity, anxiety or somatic symptom severity are severe, therapies and further diagnosis should focus on these symptoms at first

Evaluation of vardenafil for the treatment of subjective tinnitus: a controlled pilot study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Vardenafil (Levitra^®) represents a potent and highly selective phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitor, which is established for treatment of various diseases. There are several unpublished reports from patients stating that vardenafil has a considerable therapeutic effect on their concomitant tinnitus. This pilot study was conducted to specifically assess the effect of vardenafil in patients with chronic tinnitus.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This trial was based on a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group design. Fourty-two consecutive subjects with mon- or binaural chronic tinnitus received 10 mg vardenafil (N = 21) or matching placebo tablets (N = 21) administered orally twice a day over a period of 12 weeks. Clinical examination and data acquisition took place at each visit: at baseline, after 4 weeks, after 12 weeks (end of treatment with study medication), and at non-medicated follow-up after 16 weeks. Assessment of clinical effectiveness was based on a standardized tinnitus questionnaire (TQ), the Short Form 36 health survey (SF-36), audiometric measurements (mode, pitch and loudness of tinnitus; auditory thresholds) and biomarkers of oxidative stress in patients' blood (malondialdehyde, protein carbonyl, homocysteine and total antioxidative status). Therapeutic efficacy was evaluated by comparison of subjective and objective parameters with baseline data between both treatment groups (ANCOVA).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Vardenafil had no superior efficacy over placebo in the treatment of chronic tinnitus during this study. The primary efficacy criterion 'TQ total score' failed to demonstrate significant improvement compared to placebo. Subjective reports of TQ subscales and general quality of life areas (SF-36), objective audiometric examinations as well as investigated biomarkers for oxidative stress did not reveal any significant treatment effects. The safety profile was favorable and consistent with that in other vardenafil studies.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Although hypoxia and ischemia play a special role in the pathogenesis of tinnitus, the PDE5-inhibitor-induced increase of nitric oxide-mediated vasodilatation exerted no specific influence on tinnitus symptomatology. Considering the unclear risk of rarely associated hearing impairment, systemic application of vardenafil or other PDE5 inhibitors prove to be not appropriate for therapy of chronic tinnitus.</p

Sensitivity of EQ-5D-3L, HUI2, HUI3, and SF-6D to changes in speech reception and tinnitus associated with cochlear implantation

Abstract Purpose There is concern that some generic preference based measures (GPMs) of health-related quality of life may be insensitive to interventions that improve hearing. Establishing where sensitivity arises could contribute to the design of improved measures. Accordingly, we compared the sensitivity of four widely-used GPMs to a clinically effective treatment – cochlear implantation – which restores material degrees of hearing to adults with little or no functional hearing. Methods Participants (N=147) received implants in any of 13 hospitals in the UK. One month before implantation and nine months after, they completed the HUI2, HUI3, EQ 5D 3L, and SF-6D questionnaires, together with the EuroQoL visual analogue scale as a direct measure of health, a performance test of speech reception, and a self-report measure of annoyance due to tinnitus. Results Implantation was associated with a large improvement in speech reception and a small improvement in tinnitus. HUI2 and HUI3 were sensitive to the improvement in speech reception through their Sensation and Hearing dimensions; EQ 5D 3L was sensitive to the improvement in tinnitus through its Anxiety/Depression dimension; SF-6D was sensitive to neither. Participants reported no overall improvement in health. Variation in health was associated with variation in tinnitus, not variation in speech reception. Conclusions None of the four GPMs was sensitive to the improvements in both speech reception and tinnitus that were associated with cochlear implantation. To capture fully the benefits of interventions for auditory disorders, developments of current GPMs would need to be sensitive to both the health-related and non-health-related aspects of auditory dysfunction

Instruments to assess secondhand smoke exposure in large cohorts of never smokers: The smoke scales

© 2014 The Authors. Published by PLOS. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0085809The objectives of this study were to: (i) to develop questionnaires that can identify never-smoking children and adults experiencing increased exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS+), (ii) to determine their validity against hair nicotine, and (iii) assess their reliability. A sample of 191 children (85 males; 106 females; 7-18 years) and 95 adult (23 males; 72 females; 18- 62 years) never-smokers consented to hair nicotine analysis and answered a large number of questions assessing all sources of SHS. A randomly-selected 30% answered the questions again after 20-30 days. Prevalence of SHS+ in children and adults was 0.52±0.07 and 0.67±0.10, respectively (p16.5 and >16, respectively. Significant Kappa agreement (p0.05). Area under the curve and McNemar's Chi-square showed no pair-wise differences in sensitivity and specificity at the cutoff point between the two different days for SS-C and SS-A (p>0.05). We conclude that the SS-C and the SS-A represent valid, reliable, practical, and inexpensive instruments to identify children and adult never-smokers exposed to increased SHS. Future research should aim to further increase the validity of the two questionnaires. © 2014 Misailidi et al.Published versio