Cohort difference in the association between use of recreational firearms and hearing loss: findings from the HUNT study

Objectives The risk of noise injury from recreational firearm use is well known. Despite preventive measures it is uncertain whether it has become less harmful. We assessed whether the association between recreational firearm use and hearing has changed during the last two decades. Design We used a repeated cross-sectional design and determined hearing thresholds by pure-tone audiometry. Frequency-specific associations between recreational firearm use and hearing thresholds were assessed by multivariate linear regression stratified by sex and adjusted for age and other covariates. Study sample Two cross-sectional population-based cohorts 20 years apart (1998 and 2018) comprised 27,580 (53% women, mean age 53 years) and 26,606 individuals (56% women, mean age 54 years), respectively. Results Recreational firearm use was reported by 28% in 1998 and 30% in 2018. The proportion that reported wearing hearing protection increased. Exposure to recreational firearms was associated with elevated thresholds at 3-6 kHz in both cohorts. The association increased with the number of lifetime shots. The associations increased by age and were substantially smaller in the most recent cohort. Conclusions Analyses of two cohorts revealed a reduction in the association between recreational firearm use and hearing over 20 years, coinciding with the introduction of hearing preservation measures.