Hyperacusis and General Health: NHIS Survey Results

[Briann]

Below is a link to a tool for others to look though the 2014 NHIS survey data with a focus on hyperacusis and tinnitus. The NHIS survey is a United States National health survey of 37,000 people in the general population. There was a "hyperacusis" question along with tinnitus, hearing loss, sound exposure, occupation, emotional health, and general health questions. The hyperacusis question is poorly worded but it is better than nothing. A lot of health issues for those with H or T, even when controlling for age.

http://hyperacusisfocus.org/nhis-2014-survey-explorer/

Topics covered include the following:

Hyperacusis|Hyperacusis Severity|Tinnitus|Tinnitus Severity|Reactive Tinnitus Only|Hyperacusis vs Tinnitus Severity|Dizziness/Vertigo|Hearing Ability|Hearing Loss Worse in One Ear|Speech in Noise|Cause of Hearing Loss|Remedies Helped T|Age|Sex|Height|Ethnicity|Race|Marital Status|Region|Employment|Reason for unemployment|Ever Worked?|Industry|Occupation|TMJ/Jaw Muscle Pain|Severe Headache/Migraine|Trouble Seeing|Blind|High Blood Pressure|High Cholesterol|Heart Condition |Stroke|Emphysema|Asthma|Ulcer|Cancer|Kind of Cancer|Diabetes|Sinusitus|Kidney Weak/Failing|Liver Condition|Joint Pain (Not back or neck)|Arthritus, Gout, Lupus, or Fibromyalgia|Neck Pain|Lower Back Pain|Health Progression|Ever a Smoker|Drink >12 drinks in lifetime|Drink >12 drinks in any one year|Well Rested (last week)|Sad (last 30 days)|Nervous (last 30 days)|Restless (last 30 days)|Hopeless (last 30 days)|Everything was an effort (last 30 days)|Feel Worthless (last 30 days)|Life impact of feelings listed above|Very Loud Job Ever|Loud Job Ever|Ever Used Guns|Total Rounds Fired|Exposed to Loud Sounds last 12 months|Hearing Protection Last 12 Months|Hearing Protection Before Last 12 Months|Researched Hearing Protection using Internet|Worried about money for retirement|Worried about maintaining standard of living|Worried about rent/mortgage payments

Below are snapshots of a few results

 

[Sara_Bond]

What does it mean @Briann

 

[Briann]

I guess it is open to interpretation. At the very least, the more severe the H, the more likely you are to have other health issues. I think it's impossible to untangle cause and effect from this, but we can see there's a trend. Mainly I think this is useful for those basic questions like does having H imply you more likely to have X, Y, or Z? Or does a history of alcohol or smoking increase the odds of having H? I don't know how useful it is but I thought it was fun to play with. To really determine the risk factors I think you would need to word the questions differently and then run something like a logistic regression analysis.