Weaker association between hearing loss and non-employment in recent generations: the HUNT cohort study

Figures & data

Table 1. Background data of the pooled cross-sectional sample (age range 20–66 years). The Trøndelag Health Study, Norway: HUNT2 (1996–1998) and HUNT4 (2017–2019).

		Pooled cross-sectional
	Total sample	Normal hearing	Hearing loss	HUNT2 (1996–1998)	HUNT4 (2017–2019)
	N = 58,217^a	N = 52,808	N = 5409	N = 38,603	N = 19,614
Age – mean, (SD)	44.7 (12.7)	43.5 (12.4)	55.9 (9.3)	43.7 (12.3)	46.5 (12.2)
Female N, (%)	31,711 (54.5)	29,572 (56.0)	2139 (39.5)	20,450 (53.0)	11,261 (57.4)
Male N, (%)	26,506 (45.5)	23,236 (44.0)	3270 (60.5)	18,153 (47.0)	8353 (42.6)
Working N, (%)	46,274 (79.5)	43,109 (81.6)	3165 (58.5)	29,863 (77.4)	16,411 (83.7)
Hearing loss N, (%)	5409 (9.3)	–	–	3658 (9.5)	1751 (8.9)
High education N, (%)	33,034 (56.7)	30,102 (57.0)	2932 (54.2)	22,315 (57.8)	10,719 (54.7)
Hearing aid use N, (%)	1131 (1.9)	230 (0.4)	901 (16.7)	598 (1.6)	533 (2.7)

SD = standard deviation.

^a51,340 persons, 6877 of whom had repeated measurements, yielding 58,217 observations for analysis.

Table 2. Nationally weighted prevalence of hearing loss among employed persons (20–66 years). The Trøndelag Health Study, Norway: HUNT4 (2017–2019).

	All participants	Men	Women	Age ≤44 years	Age >44 years
	N = 16,411	N = 7188	N = 9223	N = 6777	N = 9634
	(%)	(%)	(%)	(%)	(%)
Any hearing loss	5.8	6.8	4.6	1.3	11.3
Unilateral hearing loss	0.7	0.7	0.6	0.3	1.1
Mild hearing loss	4.4	5.4	3.3	0.8	9.0
Disabling hearing loss	0.7	0.7	0.6	0.2	1.2
Hearing aid users	1.9	2.1	1.6	0.5	3.6
Self-reported hearing loss	33.7	38.9	27.8	25.6	43.7
Self-perceived poor work performance due to hearing loss	3.9	3.4	4.5	2.6	5.6

Table 3. The association between hearing loss and non-employment among persons aged 20–66 years. The Trøndelag Health Study, Norway: HUNT2 (1996–1998) and HUNT4 (2017–2019).

	Any hearing loss	Unilateral hearing loss	Mild hearing loss	Disabling hearing loss
	OR (95% CI)	OR (95% CI)	OR (95% CI)	OR (95% CI)
Total sample (N = 58,217^a)	2.1 (2.0–2.3)	1.7 (1.4–2.0)	2.0 (1.9–2.2)	3.2 (2.8–3.7)
Stratified analyses
Men (N = 26,506)	2.2 (2.1–2.4)	1.6 (1.2–2.1)	2.1 (1.9–2.3)	3.6 (3.0–4.3)
Women (N = 31,711)	2.0 (1.8–2.2)	1.8 (1.4–2.3)	1.9 (1.7–2.1)	2.6 (2.1–3.2)
Younger adults =/<44 year (N = 27,532)	2.2 (1.8–2.7)	1.9 (1.3–2.8)	2.0 (1.6–2.7)	3.4 (2.2–5.3)
Older adults >44 year (N = 30,685)	1.7 (1.6–1.8)	1.6 (1.2–1.9)	1.6 (1.4–1.7)	2.4 (2.0–2.8)
Low education (N = 25,183)	2.3 (2.1–2.5)	1.8 (1.4–2.4)	2.2 (2.0–2.4)	3.4 (2.8–4.1)
Higher education (N = 33,034)	2.0 (1.8–2.2)	1.5 (1.2–1.9)	1.9 (1.7–2.1)	3.0 (2.4–3.6)
HUNT2 (i = 38,603)	2.2 (2.0–2.4)	1.6 (1.3–2.0)	2.1 (1.9–2.3)	3.2 (2.7–3.8)
HUNT4 (N = 19,614)	1.9 (1.7–2.1)	1.7 (1.2–2.4)	1.8 (1.6–2.1)	2.5 (1.9–3.3)

CI = confidence interval. OR = Odds ratio.

^a51,340 persons, 6877 of whom had repeated measurements, yielding 58,217 observations for analysis.

p < 0.05 for all analyses in this table.

All analyses are adjusted for age and sex.

In the sex stratified analyses, the estimates are adjusted for age.

In the age stratified analyses, the estimates are adjusted for sex.

Table 4. The association between hearing loss and non-optimal work performance. The Trøndelag Health Study, Norway: HUNT4 (2017–2019).

	Any hearing loss	Unilateral hearing loss	Mild hearing loss	Disabling hearing loss
	OR (95% CI)	OR (95% CI)	OR (95% CI)	OR (95% CI)
Total sample (N = 16,411)	5.1 (4.3–6.2)	3.7 (2.2–6.3)	3.9 (3.1–4.8)	19.5 (13.9–27.5)
Stratified analyses:
Men (N = 7188)	3.7 (2.8–4.9)	2.1 (0.8–5.2) ^a	3.0 (2.2–4.1)	12.6 (7.6–20.8)
Women (N = 9223)	6.6 (5.1–8.4)	5.3 (2.8–10.1)	4.6 (3.4–6.2)	27.9 (17.3–45.2)
Younger adults =/<44 year (N = 6777)	8.8 (5.0–15.4)	1.8 (0.2–13.2) ^a	8.5 (4.2–17.4)	32.3 (10.8–96.2)
Older adults > 44 year (N = 9634)	4.9 (4.0–5.9)	4.0 (2.3–6.8)	3.7 (2.9–4.6)	18.5 (12.9–26.4)
Low education (N = 7354)	6.1 (4.6–7.9)	3.8 (1.8–8.3)	4.4 (3.2–6.0)	26.4 (15.8–44.0)
Higher education (N = 9057)	4.5 (3.5–5.8)	3.7 (1.8–7.4)	3.5 (2.6–4.7)	15.3 (9.6–24.4)
White-collar occupation (N = 12 561)	5.6 (4.6–6.9)	3.9 (2.2–7.1)	4.2 (3.3–5.3)	26.0 (17.2–39.4)
Blue-collar occupation (N = 3028)	4.0 (2.5–6.4)	3.2 (0.9–10.9) ^a	3.6 (2.1–6.0)	8.1 (3.5–18.8)

CI = confidence interval. OR = Odds ratio.

^ap < 0.05 for all analyses in this table, except those marked ‘a’.

For the variable white/blue collar, persons without registered data (not working or not registered data) were excluded from this analysis (n = 15,589).

All analyses are adjusted for age and sex.

In the sex stratified analyses, the estimates are adjusted for age.

In the age stratified analyses, the estimates are adjusted for sex.

Table 5. The association between hearing loss and co-worker relations. The Trøndelag Health Study, Norway: HUNT4 (2017–2019).

	Total sample	Any hearing loss		Unilateral hearing loss		Mild hearing loss		Disabling hearing loss
	N (%)	N (%)	OR (95% CI)	N (%)	OR (95% CI)	N (%)	OR (95% CI)	N (%)	OR (95% CI)
Not strong collegial relations	826 (7.6)	58 (6.3)	1.0 (0.8–1.3)	9 (8.9)	1.3 (0.7–2.6)	47 (5.9)	0.9 (0.7–1.2)	11 (8.8)	1.3 (0.7–2.5)
Not getting along well with colleagues	412 (3.7)	23 (2.5)	0.9 (0.6–1.3)	5 (5.0)	1.5 (0.6–3.7)	21 (2.6)	0.8 (0.5–1.3)	2 (1.6)	0.5 (0.1–2.0)
Not getting support from colleagues	808 (7.4)	68 (7.4)	1.1 (0.8–1.4)	9 (8.9)	1.3 (0.6–2–6)	57 (7.2)	1.0 (0.8–1.4)	11 (8.8)	1.3 (0.7–2.4)
Bullying/harassment at work	502 (4.6)	30 (3.3)	1.4 (1.0–2.0)	7 (6.9)	0.7 (0.3–1.5)	28 (3.5)	1.4 (1.0–2.1)	2 (1.6)	3.3 (0.8–13.4)

CI = confidence interval. OR = Odds ratio.

p > 0.05 for all analyses in this table.

All analyses are adjusted for age and sex.

In the sex stratified analyses, the estimates are adjusted for age.

In the age stratified analyses, the estimates are adjusted for sex.