Prevalence of hearing impairment in two communities in Ceiba, Puerto Rico

Background: Studies investigating hearing impairment from noise exposure in communities in close proximity to military installations in Puerto Rico are limited. We evaluated the perception of hearing impairment and compared its prevalence in two communities in the municipality of Ceiba.

Methods: A two-stage cluster design survey of the adult population living at addressed households was performed. Participants included 181 individuals aged 21-49 years: 77 residing in Pueblo, a community in close proximity to the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, and 104 residing in Río Abajo, a community distant from the naval station. All adults within randomly selected households were administered a face-to-face interview to gather information on the diagnosis of hearing impairment, self-reported hearing difficulty without a hearing aid and associated characteristics.

Results: Prevalence of diagnosed hearing impairment in Pueblo (16.9%) was significantly (p<0.05) higher than in Río Abajo (7.8%). However, the prevalence of self-reported hearing difficulty without a hearing aid was similar (p>0.05) in both communities (22.1% and 21.2%, respectively). After controlling for confounders, residents in Pueblo had 2.66 (95% CI: 1.02-6.97) times the odds of diagnosed hearing impairment as compared with residents in Río Abajo.

Conclusions: Prevalence of diagnosed hearing impairment in the community near the naval station was larger in comparison with that observed in the farther community. The main complaint of the community was excessive noise caused by activities performed in the military installations. A population-based study designed to determine the magnitude of noise-induced hearing loss and its contributing factors is warranted.