Association of Hearing Impairment and 24-Hour Total Movement Activity in a Representative Sample of US Adults

Importance

Lower physical activity (PA) levels have been proposed as a mechanism to explain the association between hearing loss and various adverse outcomes of aging. But whether hearing loss is associated with lower PA is poorly understood.

Objective

To evaluate whether hearing loss is associated with lower levels of PA.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This cross-sectional analysis was conducted in a representative sample of US adults (aged 30-69 years) who participated in the 2011-2012 cycle of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Data analysis was conducted from July to September 2021.

Exposures

Hearing was assessed, in dB, by pure-tone audiometry and summarized as the better hearing ear's pure-tone average (BPTA) of 4 speech frequencies (500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 kHz); a higher BTPA indicates worse hearing. Hearing was also categorized into normal (BPTA ≤25 dB), mild hearing impairment (>25 to 40 dB), and moderate or greater hearing impairment (>40 dB).

Main Outcomes and Measures

Total 24-hour movement activity was measured using wrist accelerometers worn at all times for 7 consecutive days and summarized in monitor-independent movement summary units (MIMS) units (higher MIMS units indicate more movement). The association between BPTA and MIMS units was evaluated using a multivariable-adjusted (demographic characteristics and chronic conditions) piecewise spline regression (knot at 15 dB). Mean differences in MIMS units across hearing categories compared with normal hearing were estimated.

Results

The study included 2490 participants (mean [SE] age, 48.9 [0.3] years; 900 [weighted percentage, 69.3%] White individuals, 1248 [weighted percentage, 50.8%] female participants). Before the knot at 15 dB, we found that each 10-dB higher BPTA was associated with 860.4 (95% CI, 444.8-1276.1) higher MIMS units. Conversely, after the knot, each 10-dB higher BPTA was associated with 458.6 (95% CI, 27.7-889.4) lower MIMS units. The difference in MIMS units across hearing categories was not statistically significant.

Conclusions and Relevance

In this cross-sectional study, in the range of hearing sensitivity of BPTA of 15 dB or greater, worse hearing was associated with lower MIMS units. Lower PA may be a mechanism contributing to the association between hearing impairment and adverse health.