2022 NHCA Annual Virtual Conference

The Lifetime Exposure to Noise and Solvents Questionnaire (LENS-Q) was used to explore the impact of military noise exposure on hearing loss, tinnitus, and subjective hearing difficulties in 287 Service members and 403 Veterans enrolled in the NOISE Study. Participants completed the LENS-Q, Hearing Handicap Inventory for Adults, Tinnitus Screener, and pure-tone audiometry. Low, middle and high noise exposure groups were defined based on LENS-Q scores. Multivariable logistic regression analyses with noise exposure as the risk factor were completed with low-, high-, and extended high-frequency hearing loss (HL), presence of tinnitus, and subjective hearing difficulties as outcome variables. Regression models adjusted for age and sex show that compared to low noise exposure groups, high exposure groups had twice the odds of tinnitus, three times the odds of subjective hearing difficulties, and 2-3 times the odds of HL in low, high, and extended-high frequencies. These findings underscore the importance of hearing conservation programs in the military and have implications for disability planning in the future. Data reallocated from : Griest SE, Bramhall NF, Reavis KM, Theodoroff SM, Henry JA. Development of the Lifetime Exposure to Noise and Solvents Questionnaire (LENS-Q): Preliminary results from the NOISE Study, Am J Audiol, in press