Persistent Hearing Loss among World Trade Center Health Registry Residents, Passersby and Area Workers, 2006–2007

James E. Cone, Cheryl R. Stein, David J. Lee, Gregory A. Flamme and Jennifer Brite
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James E. Cone: New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, World Trade Center Health Registry, New York City, NY 10013, USA
Cheryl R. Stein: School of Medicine, New York University, New York, NY 10016, USA
David J. Lee: Department of Public Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33199, USA
Gregory A. Flamme: Stephenson & Stephenson Research and Consulting, Loveland, OH 45140, USA
Jennifer Brite: New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, World Trade Center Health Registry, New York City, NY 10013, USA

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 20, 1-11

Abstract: Background: Prior studies have found that rescue and recovery workers exposed to the 9/11 World Trade Center (WTC) disaster have evidence of increased persistent hearing and other ear-related problems. The potential association between WTC disaster exposures and post-9/11 persistent self-reported hearing problems or loss among non-rescue and recovery survivors has not been well studied. Methods: We used responses to the World Trade Center Health Registry (Registry) enrollment survey (2003–2004) and first follow-up survey (2006–2007) to model the association between exposure to the dust cloud and persistent hearing loss (n = 22,741). Results: The prevalence of post-9/11 persistent hearing loss among survivors was 2.2%. The adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of hearing loss for those who were in the dust cloud and unable to hear was 3.0 (95% CI: 2.2, 4.0). Survivors with persistent sinus problems, headaches, PTSD and chronic disease histories had an increased prevalence of reported hearing problems compared to those without symptoms or chronic problems. Conclusions: In a longitudinal study, we observed an association between WTC-related exposures and post-9/11 self-reported hearing loss among disaster survivors.

Keywords: World Trade Center disaster; hearing loss; dust (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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