Adegboye, Oyelola (2023) The Echoes of Noise: Residential Exposure to Traffic and Risk of Tinnitus. Environmental Health Perspectives, 131 (3). 034001.

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Abstract

Noisy occupational settings place workers at risk for adverse auditory outcomes, including tinnitus.1 But exposure to loud noise off the job—for example, when using earbuds, shooting firearms, visiting nightclubs, or cranking up the volume on computer games—also puts people at risk for tinnitus.2–4 Tinnitus is characterized by the perception of sound in the absence of an external source—sometimes experienced as a ringing in the ears—and it is a common problem, affecting up to 38% of adults.5–7 In a cohort study recently published in Environmental Health Perspectives, Manuella Lech Cantuaria and colleagues quantified the risk of tinnitus associated with residential road and railway noise exposure.8

Loud noises are thought to cause tinnitus by damaging the inner ear hair cells, which transmit sound signals to the brain.9 However, it is still unclear how, or even whether, chronic noise exposures lead to the condition. The authors of the new study point to papers suggesting that “stressful situations and sleep disturbances precede tinnitus occurrence and contribute to the transition from mild to severe symptoms.”10–12

Item ID:	77990
Item Type:	Article (Non-Refereed Research)
ISSN:	1552-9924
Copyright Information:	EHP is an open-access journal published with support from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health. All content is public domain unless otherwise noted.
Date Deposited:	06 Jun 2023 04:20
FoR Codes:	42 HEALTH SCIENCES > 4202 Epidemiology > 420203 Environmental epidemiology @ 100%
SEO Codes:	20 HEALTH > 2004 Public health (excl. specific population health) > 200408 Injury prevention and control @ 100%
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