Table 2.
Demographics and hearing loss risk factors, by subject group
| Variables | Exposed | Controls |
|---|---|---|
| n | 24,670 | 1,016 |
| Age, yrs (mean ± SD)* | 44.3 ± 11.4 | 40.9 ± 11.5 |
| Years in construction (mean ± SD)* | 24.3 ± 12.6 | 11.9 ± 10.2 |
| Years in current job (mean ± SD)* | 18.6 ± 12.8 | 11.9 ± 10.2 |
| Always employed in current job (%)* | 55.5 | – |
| Usage of HPD (%)* | 75.3 | 9.9 |
| Complaints of worsened hearing (%)* | 22.1 | 11.7 |
| Bothered by noise during work (%)* | 39.1 | 4.5 |
| Smoking | ||
| Never (%) | 35.0 | 36.4 |
| Current (%) | 32.8 | 33.5 |
| Ex (%) | 32.2 | 30.1 |
| Cigarettes/day (mean ± SD) | 14.7 ± 9.9 | 14.2 ± 9.2 |
| Years of smoking (mean ± SD) | 18.9 ± 11.8 | 18.9 ± 11.7 |
| Alcohol intake, glasses/week (mean ± SD) | 9.8 ± 10.3 | 9.8 ± 10.3 |
| Hypertension (%) | 21.6 | 19.7 |
| LAeq, 8h (dBA) | ||
| 80–84 (%) | 0.6 | – |
| 85–89 (%) | 29.0 | – |
| 90–94 (%) | 68.7 | – |
| >95 (%) | 1.7 | – |
* Difference between groups is significant at 0.01 level
Italic values represent percentages