The scientists here used Cox proportional hazards regression models to determine demographic and health-related factors associated with incident hearing loss, in the entire sample and across sex and race groups, separately. This study included 754 participants without hearing loss at baseline, contributing 3,771 person years. The incidence rate of hearing loss was 44.8 per 1000 PY, and incidence increased with age. In age-adjusted models, older age, male sex, noise exposure, and > 5 to 15 smoking pack years were associated with incident hearing loss; associations with noise exposure and smoking pack years did not remain in age-sex adjusted models. Some factors associated with incident hearing loss varied across sex and race groups. Interventions to prevent or manage hearing loss, which is a common public health concern, may vary across demographic groups.
