Association between hearing loss, tinnitus, and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease among American adults: A cross-sectional study

The interconnections between hearing loss, tinnitus, and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) remain incompletely elucidated. This study sought to investigate the associations of ASCVD prevalence with hearing loss and tinnitus. We analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2015-2018), encompassing 19,225 US adults aged 20 years and older in this cross-sectional study....

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Audiologists should be aware of the association between hearing loss/tinnitus and cardiovascular disease risk, and consider flagging patients with hearing symptoms for cardiovascular screening referral — though this cross-sectional design cannot confirm cause and effect.

A confirmed link between hearing loss, tinnitus, and cardiovascular disease could position audiologists as a frontline point of contact for identifying patients at elevated cardiovascular risk in the broader healthcare system.

1. 01Cross-sectional study finds an association between hearing loss/tinnitus and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) in U.S. adults.
2. 02ASCVD involves plaque buildup in arteries, raising risk of heart attack and stroke.
3. 03Published in Medicine, a peer-reviewed general medical journal.
4. 04Cross-sectional design limits causal inference — association does not prove causation.
5. 05Findings support the vascular hypothesis of hearing loss and tinnitus pathogenesis.

PMID

42566607

DOI

10.1097/MD.0000000000050087.

Journal

Medicine

Publication type

research_article

Evidence level

3

Population

American adults with and without hearing loss or tinnitus drawn from a cross-sectional survey dataset

Intervention

Presence of hearing loss or tinnitus (exposure)

Comparator

Adults without hearing loss or tinnitus