Table 3. Reported Good Hearing Descriptive Statistics and Unadjusted Odds Ratiosa.
| Variable | Total | HD | GH | Odds Ratio (95% CI) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | 365 | 191 | 174 | |
| Continuous, mean (SEM) | ||||
| Age, y | 52.5 (1.08) | 52.8 (1.31) | 52.1 (1.20) | 0.99 (0.98-1.01) |
| Overall HEI score | 63.09 (1.09) | 62.60 (1.36) | 63.75 (1.45) | 1.01 (0.98-1.03) |
| Low-frequency PTA | 24.63 (0.61) | 26.50 (0.87) | 22.17 (0.63) | 0.95 (0.93-0.97) |
| High-frequency PTA | 53.39 (1.39) | 58.29 (1.81) | 46.93 (2.02) | 0.96 (0.95-0.98) |
| Categorical, % (SEM) | ||||
| Male sex | 68.5 (2.8) | 70.7 (3.7) | 65.7 (3.8) | 0.79 (0.49-1.26) |
| Race | ||||
| White | 78.6 (3.7) | 81.9 (4.1) | 74.2 (4.0) | 0.63 (0.39-1.01) |
| Black | 5.5 (1.3) | 4.2 (1.3) | 7.2 (1.6) | 2.11 (1.02-3.08) |
| Mexican American | 4.3 (0.7) | 2.8 (0.7) | 6.4 (1.1) | 2.41 (1.38-4.18) |
| Other | 11.6 (3.3) | 11.1 (3.7) | 12.2 (3.8) | 1.11 (0.55-2.26) |
| Education | ||||
| Less than high school education | 26.9 (3.2) | 26.2 (3.9) | 27.7 (5.0) | 1.08 (0.58-2.01) |
| High school education | 25.7 (2.3) | 27.5 (3.3) | 23.4 (2.8) | 0.81 (0.51-1.28) |
| More than high school education | 47.4 (3.4) | 46.4 (4.9) | 48.7 (5.5) | 1.10 (0.57-2.11) |
| Marital status (married) | 67.1 (3.3) | 69.5 (3.8) | 64.0 (5.0) | 0.78 (0.46-1.33) |
| Persistent tinnitus | 30.2 (2.8) | 39.9 (4.5) | 17.4 (3.5) | 0.32 (0.16-0.61) |
| Tinnitus in past year | 39.0 (2.7) | 49.9 (4.2) | 24.6 (3.8) | 0.33 (0.18-0.57) |
| Noise exposure | ||||
| Loud noise outside work | 31.4 (3.4) | 39.4 (3.4) | 20.8 (5.0) | 0.40 (0.22-0.73) |
| Loud noise job | 46.9 (4.7) | 54.5 (4.0) | 37.4 (7.2) | 0.50 (0.29-0.83) |
| Loud noise firearm outside work | 15.7 (2.6) | 21.5 (3.8) | 7.9 (2.1) | 0.31 (0.15-0.64) |
| Ever worn a hearing aid | 9.3 (1.5) | 15.4 (2.6) | 1.2 (0.9) | 0.07 (0.01-0.36) |
| Balance issues | 22.2 (3.3) | 26.2 (4.4) | 16.5 (3.4) | 0.55 (0.31-0.99) |
| Veteran/military | 30.9 (2.7) | 35.4 (3.2) | 24.9 (5.1) | 0.60 (0.31-1.19) |
| General health (reported as good) | 77.2 (3.4) | 76.3 (4.1) | 78.4 (5.3) | 1.13 (0.52-2.42) |
| Overweight | 31.6 (2.9) | 39.8 (4.5) | 20.8 (3.4) | 0.40 (0.22-0.70) |
| Diabetes | 15.0 (2.3) | 14.6 (3.0) | 15.6 (3.7) | 1.07 (0.54-2.11) |
| Liver condition | 7.1 (1.6) | 9.0 (2.6) | 4.8 (2.0) | 0.51 (0.15-1.67) |
| High blood pressure | 33.5 (3.1) | 31.5 (3.7) | 36 (4.7) | 1.22 (0.74-2.01) |
| Arthritis | 29.3 (2.9) | 34.9 (3.6) | 22.0 (4.3) | 0.52 (0.29-0.94) |
| Numbness in extremities (past 3 mo) | 24.7 (2.5) | 28.8 (3.1) | 18.8 (3.6) | 0.57 (0.33-0.98) |
| Pain/tingling hands/feet (past 3 mo) | 22.4 (3.3) | 29.1 (4.2) | 12.9 (2.9) | 0.36 (0.22-0.60) |
| Vision troubles | 20.6 (2.8) | 20.9 (4.2) | 20.2 (5.0) | 0.95 (0.38-2.37) |
| Confusion or memory problems | 7.8 (1.8) | 11.0 (2.7) | 3.4 (1.6) | 0.28 (0.10-0.81) |
| Physical, mental, emotional limitations | 11.9 (2.0) | 17.7 (3.6) | 5.1 (1.4) | 0.25 (0.11-0.57) |
| History of heart attack | 4.9 (1.3) | 4.3 (1.5) | 5.8 (2.2) | 1.36 (0.46-3.99) |
| History of stroke | 2.7 (0.8) | 3.3 (1.1) | 1.5 (0.9) | 0.41 (0.10-1.61) |
| History of cancer | 11.6 (2.3) | 12.6 (3.0) | 10.3 (3.1) | 0.79 (0.34-1.83) |
| Heavy alcohol use history | 27.1 (2.9) | 31.1 (4.5) | 21.6 (4.4) | 0.61 (0.28-1.30) |
| Smoking history | 61.6 (3.2) | 62.7 (3.5) | 60.2 (6.1) | 0.90 (0.47-1.70) |
| OTC analgesic drug use | 32.5 (3.3) | 38.9 (4.4) | 24.0 (4.8) | 0.49 (0.25-0.95) |
| Prescription drug use (past 3 mo) | 67.9 (3.7) | 73.5 (5.0) | 60.5 (4.3) | 0.55 (0.32-0.96) |
Abbreviations: GH, good hearing; HD, hearing difficulty; HEI, healthy eating index; OTC, over-the-counter; PTA, pure-tone average; SEM, standard error of mean.
a
Hearing loss defined as pure-tone average (0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0 kHz >25 dB HL).