Self-reported elevated blood pressure in army officers with hearing loss and gunfire noise exposure

The association of noise-induced hearing loss from gunfire noise with the occurrence of elevated blood pressure was investigated with screening audiometric measurement results and a questionnaire in a randomly selected group of 699 army officers. After age correction, hearing was found to be deteriorated (i.e., more than 20 dB at all of the measured frequencies) in 352 (50.4%) subjects. Of the 699 officers, 535 (76.5%) reported normal and 164 (23.5%) reported elevated blood pressure. In 122 (17.5%), elevation was permanent and verified by a physician. The occurrence of elevated blood pressure showed a highly significant correlation with severity of hearing loss (chi-square = 25.4; p < 0.001), but not with exposure to gunfire noise. Self-reported hypertension seemed to be associated with severity of impulse noise-induced hearing loss, but not with the amount of gunfire noise exposure. Thus, the present study does not support the suggestion that there exists a simultaneous correlation between impulse noise exposure, noise-induced hearing loss, and self-reported elevated blood pressure.