Duration of Analgesic Use and Risk of Hearing Loss in Women

Aspirin, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAID), and acetaminophen are commonly used. Frequent use of analgesics has been associated with a higher risk of hearing loss. However, the association between duration of analgesic use and the risk of hearing loss is unclear. We investigated the relationship between duration of analgesic use and self-reported hearing loss among 55,850 women in the Nurses' Health Study. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to adjust for potential confounders. During 873,376 person-years of follow-up (1990-2012), longer durations of NSAID use (for >6 years of use compared with <1 year, multivariable-adjusted relative risk = 1.10, 95% confidence interval: 1.06, 1.15; P for trend < 0.001) and acetaminophen use (for >6 years of use compared with <1 year, multivariable-adjusted relative risk = 1.09, 95% confidence interval: 1.04, 1.14; P for trend < 0.001) were associated with higher risks of hearing loss. Duration of aspirin use was not associated with hearing loss (for >6 years of use compared with <1 year, multivariable-adjusted relative risk = 1.01, 95% confidence interval: 0.97, 1.05; P for trend = 0.35). In this cohort of women, longer durations of NSAID and acetaminophen use were associated with slightly higher risks of hearing loss, but duration of aspirin use was not. Considering the high prevalence of analgesic use, this may be an important modifiable contributor to hearing loss.