Table 4.

Age- and Multivariable-Adjusted Relative Risks of Incident Hearing Loss for PPI Use and H2-RA Use, Stratified by Frequency of GERD Symptoms, Nurses’ Health Study II, 2005–2013.

GERD Symptom Frequency	Incident Cases of Hearing Loss	Person-Years	Age-Adjusted RR	95% CI	Multivariable-Adjusted RR*	95% CI
PPIs
Less than once/month
No PPI use	5,952	236,849	1.00	Reference	1.00	Reference
PPI use	75	2,349	1.27	1.01, 1.60	1.20	0.96, 1.52
Once/month
No PPI use	455	14,435	1.00	Reference	1.00	Reference
PPI use	104	3,249	1.02	0.82, 1.26	1.04	0.83, 1.31
Once/week
No PPI use	770	26,517	1.00	Reference	1.00	Reference
PPI use	158	4,623	1.18	0.99, 1.40	1.11	0.93, 1.33
At least several times/week
No PPI use	951	27,431	1.00	Reference	1.00	Reference
PPI use	287	7,587	1.09	0.96, 1.25	1.07	0.93, 1.23
H2-RAs
Less than once/month
No H2-RA use	6,000	238,383	1.00	Reference	1.00	Reference
H2-RA use	27	815	1.32	0.90, 1.92	1.19	0.82, 1.74
Once/month
No H2-RA use	537	16,859	1.00	Reference	1.00	Reference
H2-RA use	22	826	0.84	0.55, 1.28	0.81	0.52, 1.25
Once/week
No H2-RA use	874	29,468	1.00	Reference	1.00	Reference
H2-RA use	54	1,671	1.09	0.83, 1.43	1.00	0.76, 1.33
At least several times/week
No H2-RA use	1,118	31,838	1.00	Reference	1.00	Reference
H2-RA use	120	3,180	1.07	0.89, 1.30	1.01	0.83, 1.23

RR denotes relative risk

^*Adjusted for age, race, body mass index, waist circumference, alcohol consumption, physical activity, nutrient (folate, vitamin A, vitamin B₁₂, vitamin C, vitamin E, magnesium, potassium, beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, trans fat) intake, smoking status, hypertension, diabetes, tinnitus, thiazide use, furosemide use, and acetaminophen, aspirin, and ibuprofen