TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2000//
TI  - Recreational firearm use and hearing loss
JO  - Archives of family medicine
A1  - Nondahl, D. M.
A1  - Cruickshanks, Karen J.
A1  - Wiley, T. L.
A1  - Klein, R.
A1  - Klein, B. E.
A1  - Tweed, T. S.
SP  - 352
EP  - 357
VL  - 9
IS  - 4
N2  - OBJECTIVE: To assess the relation between recreational firearm use and high-frequency hearing loss in a population of older adults. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, population-based cohort study. SETTING: The midwestern community of Beaver Dam, Wis. PARTICIPANTS: A population-based sample of 3753 participants (83% of those eligible), aged 48 to 92 years, participated in the baseline phase of the Epidemiology of Hearing Loss Study. INTERVENTION: None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Lifetime and past year self-reported firearm use during target shooting and hunting were assessed by interview. Hearing thresholds were measured by pure-tone audiometry. RESULTS: After age and other factors were adjusted for, men (n = 1538) who had ever regularly engaged in target shooting (odds ratio, 1.57; 95% confidence interval, 1.12-2.19) or who had done so in the past year (odds ratio, 2.00; 95% confidence interval, 1.15-3.46) were more likely to have a marked high-frequency hearing loss than those who had not. Risk of having a marked high-frequency hearing loss increased 7% for every 5 years the men had hunted (odds ratio, 1.07; 95% confidence interval, 1.03-1.12). Thirty-eight percent of the target shooters and 95% of the hunters reported never wearing hearing protection while shooting in the past year. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that use of recreational firearms is associated with marked high-frequency hearing loss in men. There is a need for further education of users of recreational firearms regarding the risk of hearing impairment associated with firearm use and the availability and importance of appropriate hearing protection.
LA  - 
SN  - 1063-3987
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/
ID  - ref1
ER  -