Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss: Evidence from Taiwan

Vol. 11, No. 3, 2006

Free Abstract Article (Fulltext) Article (PDF 159 KB)

Original Paper

Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss: Evidence from Taiwan
Chuan-Song Wu^a, Herng-Ching Lin^b, Pin-Zhir Chao^c

^aDepartment of Otolaryngology, Taipei City Hospital,
^bSchool of Health Care Administration, Taipei Medical University and
^cDepartment of Otolaryngology, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan

Address of Corresponding Author

Audiol Neurotol 2006;11:151-156 (DOI: 10.1159/000091198)

Key Words

Hearing loss, sudden
Season

Abstract

Objective:This study uses 5-year population data to determine the incidence rate of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) in Taiwan, taking into consideration the age and gender of patients, as well as seasonal variations. Study Design:A retrospective cross-sectional study. Method: The data used is from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database covering the period from 1998 to 2002. A total of 9,267 sample patients were identified from the database by a principal diagnosis of unspecified sudden hearing loss (ICD-9-CM code 3882). The autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) method was also carried out in order to identify any variations in the monthly incidence rates of SSNHL. Results:We find that for the period under examination, gender-specific incidence rates per 100,000 of the population were 8.85 for males, and 7.79 for females, and that there was an increase in age-specific SSNHL incidence with age. The ARIMA test for seasonality was found to be significant for the whole sample. Of all the seasons in Taiwan, the highest SSNHL incidence rates were found in autumn. Conclusions: Our finding of significant variations in the monthly incidence of SSNHL provides valuable information for otolaryngologists and public health officials, creating an awareness of periods of a potential increased risk of SSNHL.

Author Contacts

Herng-Ching Lin
Taipei Medical University
School of Health Care Administration
250 Wu-Hsing St., Taipei 110 (Taiwan)
Tel. +886 2 27361661, ext. 3613, Fax +882 2 23789788, E-Mail henry11111@tmu.edu.tw

Article Information

Received: July 22, 2005
Accepted: September 14, 2005
Published online: January 31, 2006
Number of Print Pages : 6
Number of Figures : 3, Number of Tables : 1, Number of References : 20

Medline Abstract (ID 16449805)

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