Incidence and risk factors for tinnitus among military service members in the Millennium Cohort Study

Abstract: PURPOSE: Military personnel may be repeatedly exposed to high-noise environments that may increase tinnitus risk. Previous military research on tinnitus has often utilized small samples of personnel with specific experiences and exposures (e.g., combat deployment), with few examinations leveraging longitudinal data. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence and associated risk factors for new-onset tinnitus in a large prospective and representative military cohort. METHOD: This study utilized data from the Millennium Cohort Study, the largest and longest running longitudinal health study of service members and veterans, to ascertain self-reported and medical diagnoses of tinnitus. Multivariable logistic regression was employed to identify factors associated with new-onset tinnitus. RESULTS: New-onset tinnitus was self-reported by 10.7% (n = 2,527) of participants while 3.5% (n = 511) had a medical record tinnitus diagnosis. Tinnitus risk was associated with multiple characteristics, including active duty service, being a member of the Army or Marine Corps, combat deployment experience, combat specialist occupation, prior history of mild traumatic brain injury, panic/anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) alone, and PTSD comorbid with depression. CONCLUSIONS: This may be the first study to determine new-onset tinnitus utilizing both self-reported and medical record data in a large prospective cohort of service members and veterans. Additional prospective studies are needed to corroborate our findings and further describe the temporal relationships of military occupational and mental health characteristics with service-related new-onset tinnitus.

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