American Journal of Audiology Vol.21 33-40 June 2012. doi:10.1044/1059-0889(2011/11-0024)
© American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrowCustom Print
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow My Folders
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Loprinzi, P. D.
Right arrow Articles by Gilham, B.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Loprinzi, P. D.
Right arrow Articles by Gilham, B.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Delicious   Add to Digg   Add to Facebook   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Association Between Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Hearing Sensitivity

Paul D. Loprinzia, Bradley J. Cardinalb and Ben Gilhamc

a Bellarmine University, Louisville, KY
b Oregon State University, Corvallis
c Hearing, Speech and Deafness Center, Seattle, WA

Correspondence to Paul Loprinzi: ploprinzi{at}bellarmine.edu

Purpose: As a follow-up to previous smaller scale studies, the purpose of the present study was to examine the link between cardiorespiratory fitness and hearing sensitivity using a nationally representative U.S. sample of adults.

Method: Data from the 1999–2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES; U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2011) were used in the analyses. After exclusions, the final sample included 1,082 NHANES participants ages 20–49 years. Maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) was obtained from an established nonexercise prediction equation and through heart-rate extrapolation during a treadmill-based submaximal test. Audiometry data were objectively measured to obtain estimates of low (LPTA) and high (HPTA) pure-tone frequency average.

Results: VO2max was not associated with hearing sensitivity when using the heart-rate extrapolation method but was significantly associated with hearing sensitivity (for women) when applying the nonexercise prediction equation for both LPTA and HPTA (p < .01). Women with higher predicted cardiorespiratory fitness were 6% more likely than women with lower predicted cardio-respiratory fitness to have good hearing compared to worse hearing.

Conclusion: Cardiorespiratory fitness was associated with hearing sensitivity when using the nonexercise prediction equation to measure VO2max. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings. Findings suggest a potentially auditory-protective effect of cardiorespiratory fitness.

Key Words: exercise, physical activity, hearing function


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Delicious Delicious   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Facebook Facebook   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?