Relationship between Household Air Quality and Hearing Loss in Korean Adults: Analysis of Data from The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2020~2021

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify the household air pollutants most significantly impacting hearing loss, using data from the 8th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Of the 1,980 participants, those with missing data were excluded from the study population, resulting in the final inclusion of 298 participants. Mild hearing loss is defined as a unilateral or bilateral pure-tone threshold average (PTA) of 26~40 dB, and moderate hearing loss is defined as a unilateral or bilateral PTA of 41 dB or higher. The mean of the PTAs for both ears is defined as the sum of the PTAs of the left and the right ears divided by 2. Complex samples multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that formaldehyde exposure independently significantly increased the risk of moderate hearing loss (odds ratio=1.050, P<0.001). Additionally, in the complex samples general linear model, toluene exposure (B=0.026, P<0.001) was found to be independently significantly associated with an increase in the mean of PTAs for both ears, where a higher mean of the PTAs for both ears indicates a decrease in hearing ability. These results suggest a strong association between hearing loss and the presence of toluene or formaldehyde in indoor air.

Keywords

• air pollution
• formaldehyde
• hearing loss
• toluene
• volatile organic compounds