A Longitudinal Assessment of Hearing Loss in the World Trade Center General Responder Cohort

Objective In analyses without adjustment for World Trade Center (WTC) noise exposure, people with WTC and neighborhood exposures from the September 11, 2001, attacks have experienced slightly elevated risks of hearing loss. We investigated incident hearing loss in the WTC General Responder Cohort by their levels of WTC exposure, their WTC noise exposure and previous occupation. Methods Adjusted multivariable log binomial regression models assessed persistent (≥10 months) hearing loss associated with WTC exposures using 22 years of the monitoring visit data (n = 45,537). Results Compared with the lowest exposure level without WTC noise exposure, WTC noise exposure increased hearing loss risk (adjusted relative risk range: 1.19 [95% confidence interval 1.08, 1.30] to 1.58 [1.43, 1.76]). Conclusions The results clarify the importance of WTC noise when evaluating the associations of WTC exposures on hearing loss.