A Longitudinal Assessment of Hearing Loss in the World Trade Center General Responder Cohort

Nancy L Sloan; Christopher R Dasaro; Moshe Z Shapiro; Henry S Sacks; Iris G Udasin; Jacqueline M Moline; Benjamin J Luft; Denise J Harrison; Michael A Crane; Andrew C Todd; Susan L Teitelbaum

doi:10.1097/JOM.0000000000003428

A Longitudinal Assessment of Hearing Loss in the World Trade Center General Responder Cohort

J Occup Environ Med. 2025 Sep 1;67(9):747-756. doi: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000003428. Epub 2025 Apr 18.

Authors

Nancy L Sloan¹, Christopher R Dasaro, Moshe Z Shapiro, Henry S Sacks, Iris G Udasin, Jacqueline M Moline, Benjamin J Luft, Denise J Harrison, Michael A Crane, Andrew C Todd, Susan L Teitelbaum

Affiliation

¹ From the World Trade Center Health Program General Responder Data Center, Department of Environmental Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York (N.L.S.); World Trade Center Health Program General Responder Data Center, Department of Environmental Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York (C.R.D., M.Z.S., H.S.S., A.C.T., S.L.T.); World Trade Center Health Program Clinical Center of Excellence, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, Rutgers University Biomedical Sciences, Piscataway, New Jersey (I.G.U.); World Trade Center Health Program Clinical Center of Excellence, Department of Occupational Medicine, Epidemiology and Prevention, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Hempstead, New York (J.M.M.); World Trade Center Health Program Clinical Center of Excellence, Department of Medicine, Stony Brook University Medical Center, Stony Brook, New York (B.J.L.); World Trade Center Health Program Clinical Center of Excellence, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York (D.J.H.); and World Trade Center Health Program Clinical Center of Excellence, Department of Environmental Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York (M.A.C.).

Abstract

Objective: In analyses without adjustment for World Trade Center (WTC) noise exposure, people with WTC and neighborhood exposures from the September 11, 2001, attacks have experienced slightly elevated risks of hearing loss. We investigated incident hearing loss in the WTC General Responder Cohort by their levels of WTC exposure, their WTC noise exposure and previous occupation.

Methods: Adjusted multivariable log binomial regression models assessed persistent (≥10 months) hearing loss associated with WTC exposures using 22 years of the monitoring visit data ( n = 45,537).

Results: Compared with the lowest exposure level without WTC noise exposure, WTC noise exposure increased hearing loss risk (adjusted relative risk range: 1.19 [95% confidence interval 1.08, 1.30] to 1.58 [1.43, 1.76]).

Conclusions: The results clarify the importance of WTC noise when evaluating the associations of WTC exposures on hearing loss.

Keywords: World Trade Center; ear pain; general responder cohort; hearing loss; tinnitus.

MeSH terms

Adult
Aged
Emergency Responders* / statistics & numerical data
Female
Hearing Loss* / epidemiology
Hearing Loss* / etiology
Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced* / epidemiology
Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced* / etiology
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Middle Aged
New York City / epidemiology
Occupational Diseases* / epidemiology
Occupational Diseases* / etiology
Occupational Exposure* / adverse effects
September 11 Terrorist Attacks*

Abstract

MeSH terms

Grants and funding