Stress and Audiometric Hearing Loss in the National Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos

ABSTRACT Objectives Hearing loss (HL) has been linked to increased stress, but this relationship remains poorly characterized and often relies on subjective measures of HL, rather than more objective audiometric measures. We aimed to explore whether there is an association between stress and HL among U.S. Hispanic/Latino adults. Methods Cross‐sectional epidemiological study of U.S. Hispanic/Latino adults ages 18–74 years old from the first wave (2008–2011) of the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL). We conducted multivariable linear regressions to analyze the association between HL and various forms of stress, controlling for age, sex, education, field center, Hispanic/Latino heritage, and birth location. HL was measured by four‐frequency pure‐tone average (PTA) in the better ear and defined continuously and categorically. Stress was measured with a 17‐question version of the Hispanic Stress Inventory. The inventory was additionally used to create seven stress subscales (occupational/economic, parental, marital, immigration, familial/cultural, extrafamilial, and intrafamilial). Results Four thousand three hundred seventy participants had complete data. The mean age was 46.4 years (SD = 13.8 years). The mean PTA was 13.7 decibels (dB) HL (SD = 10.1 dB). On multivariable regression controlling for potential confounders, HL was associated with worse familial/cultural conflict ( β = 0.15 [scale 0–3 points] per 10 dB worsening in hearing; 95% CI [0.03, 0.26]; p = 0.012). Following sensitivity analysis with survey weighting, this effect size remained similar (0.16 score increase per 10 dB) but only trended toward significance ( p = 0.077). Other measures did not exhibit significant associations with HL. Conclusions HL is associated with worse familial/cultural conflict in U.S. Hispanic/Latino adults. Level of Evidence 3