Relationship between hypertension/blood pressure and hearing sensitivity among drivers: A correlation analysis

One of the most common chronic diseases is hypertension. The majority of research has linked hearing loss to hypertension. However, the relationship between hypertension and hearing is still unknown. The primary goal of the study is to investigate the effect of hypertension on hearing and to find out the association between blood pressure levels and auditory health in auto-rickshaw drivers.

The study utilized 121 healthy professional auto-drivers between the age range of 25 and 55 years. Pure-tone audiometry (PTA) and extended high-frequency audiometry (EHFA) were used to determine the participants' hearing thresholds from 0.25 to 16 kHz. The cochlear hair cell functioning was evaluated using distortion-product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) testing. Blood pressure (mmHg) measurements were categorized under hypertension stage (normal (120; <80); elevated (120-129; <80); hypertension - stage 1 (130-139; 80-89); hypertension - stage 2 (≥140; ≥90)).

The mean age of the study participants was 42.17 ± 9.03 years. The mean systolic and diastolic BP of all the study participants were 138.24 ± 19.73 (105-216) mmHg and 87.69 ± 12.14 (60-134) mmHg, respectively. BP levels were normal for 17.4% (N = 21) of the study participants, 21.5% (N = 26) had elevated blood pressure, 21.5% (N = 26) of the population falls under stage 1 hypertension, and 39.7% (N = 48) had stage 2 hypertension. Our study discovered a significant difference between main group effects and no significant difference between group interaction effects. Hearing thresholds were significantly higher in hypertensive participants compared to non-hypertensive participants. However, there was no statistically significant relationship between the two variables hypertension and hearing loss.

Implementing health promotion initiatives and raising awareness about hearing health could improve the quality of life for a high-risk occupational group of drivers.