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Recreational Firearm Use and Hearing Loss
David M. Nondahl, MS;
Karen J. Cruickshanks, PhD;
Terry L. Wiley, PhD;
Ronald Klein, MD;
Barbara E. K. Klein, MD;
Ted S. Tweed, MS
Arch Fam Med. 2000;9:352-357.
Objective To assess the relation between recreational firearm use and high-frequency hearing loss in a population of older adults.
Design Cross-sectional, population-based cohort study.
Setting The midwestern community of Beaver Dam, Wis.
Participants A population-based sample of 3753 participants (83% of those eligible), aged 48 to 92 years, participated in the baseline phase of the Epidemiology of Hearing Loss Study.
Intervention None.
Main Outcome Measures Lifetime and past year self-reported firearm use during target shooting and hunting were assessed by interview. Hearing thresholds were measured by pure-tone audiometry.
Results After age and other factors were adjusted for, men (n=1538) who had ever regularly engaged in target shooting (odds ratio, 1.57; 95% confidence interval, 1.12-2.19) or who had done so in the past year (odds ratio, 2.00; 95% confidence interval, 1.15-3.46) were more likely to have a marked high-frequency hearing loss than those who had not. Risk of having a marked high-frequency hearing loss increased 7% for every 5 years the men had hunted (odds ratio, 1.07; 95% confidence interval, 1.03-1.12). Thirty-eight percent of the target shooters and 95% of the hunters reported never wearing hearing protection while shooting in the past year.
Conclusions These results indicate that use of recreational firearms is associated with marked high-frequency hearing loss in men. There is a need for further education of users of recreational firearms regarding the risk of hearing impairment associated with firearm use and the availability and importance of appropriate hearing protection.
From the University of Wisconsin, Departments of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences (Messrs Nondahl and Tweed and Drs Cruickshanks, Klein, and Klein), Preventive Medicine (Dr Cruickshanks), and Communicative Disorders (Dr Wiley and Mr Tweed), Madison.
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