Tinnitus, sound intolerance, and mental health: the role of long-term occupational noise exposure.

Purpose: Whereas chronic noise exposure (CNE) is a known risk factor for tinnitus, little is known about how a history of CNE impacts tinnitus characteristics and its comorbid symptoms.

Methods: Seventy-five participants with chronic tinnitus (59m/16f, 22-78 years, 48 with sensory-neural hearing loss, and 27 with a normal audiogram) including 43 individuals with (Tin-CNE group) and 32 without (Tin group) a history of long-term occupational noise exposure were studied. Tinnitus characteristics were rated by a visual analog scale, and tinnitus comorbid symptoms were scored using self-assessment questionnaires.

Noise Damage Accelerates Auditory Aging and Tinnitus: A Canadian Population-Based Study.

Objective: Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) is the third most challenging disability in older adults. Noise is a known modifiable risk factor of ARHL, which can drive adverse health effects. Few large-scale studies, however, have shown how chronic noise exposure (CNE) impacts the progression of ARHL and tinnitus.