Hearing ability according to screening at conscription; comparison with earlier reports and with previous screening results for individuals without known ear disease.

Objective: (1) To study if young, Swedish men have poorer or better hearing according to screening at conscription in 1988 compared to 1969-1977. (2) To study how the results of screening and audiometry vary across the teenage years for a group of boys without middle ear disease.

Method: A birth cohort has earlier been well documented regarding results in four general screenings with follow-up and examinations and treatment for middle ear disease at the ENT departments in the area. Their results when screened at conscription have been compared with those in earlier reports on screening of Swedish conscripts. We have also studied results in screenings and follow-up at 11 and 14 years of age with special focus on small losses at the frequencies of 3, 4, 6 and 8 kHz and describe how 611 boys without known ear disease performed in these examinations and in screening at the age of 18.

Results: There is no obvious trend in the prevalence of hearing loss in Swedish conscripts. At 11 years of age 80.4% and at 14 years of age 64.6% of small high tone losses diagnosed by screening were not confirmed by audiometry. Approximately half of those who had confirmed losses had normal screening at conscription.

Conclusions: 18-year-old Swedish boys did not have poorer hearing in 1998 than 29 years earlier. Information drawn from screenings must be interpreted with caution.