Early hearing slope as a predictor of subsequent hearing trajectory in a noise-exposed occupational cohort

Variations in individual susceptibility to noise-induced hearing loss have been observed among workers exposed to similar ambient noise levels but the reasons for this observation are poorly understood. Many workers are exposed to hazardous levels of occupational noise throughout their entire careers. Therefore, a mechanism to identify workers at risk for accelerated hearing loss early in their career may offer a time-sensitive window for targeted intervention. Using available longitudinal data for an occupationally noise-exposed cohort of manufacturing workers, this study aims to examine whether change in an individual's high frequency hearing level during the initial years of occupational noise exposure can predict subsequent high frequency hearing loss. General linear mixed modeling was used to model later hearing slope in the worse ear for the combined frequencies of 3, 4, and 6 kHz as a function of early hearing slope in the worse ear, age at baseline, sex, race/ethnicity, mean ambient workplace noise exposure, and self-reported non-occupational noise exposure. Those with accelerated early hearing loss were more likely to experience a greater rate of subsequent hearing loss, thus offering a potentially important opportunity for meaningful intervention among those at greatest risk of future hearing loss.