Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the current health status of adults in the United States with self-reported hearing loss and compare it with US adults with a self-reported excellent or good hearing in three areas: (1) chronic disease states and general health status, (2) medical screening behaviors, and (3) lifestyle behaviors. Methods: A secondary data analysis was conducted using the 2014 data set from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), specifically the Sample Adult Public Use File (samadult). For this questionnaire set, one adult per family was randomly selected. This individual self-reported their response to the questionnaire items. Binary regressions were used to analyze the odds ratio to find differences for selected disease states, screenings, and lifestyle behaviors. Respondents were grouped into one of four categories: excellent/good hearing, a little trouble hearing, moderate/a lot of trouble hearing, and deaf. Results: The excellent/good hearing group was used as the comparison group for the other three levels of hearing. There are many differences in likelihood to self-report disease states; the greatest increased likelihoods include tinnitus and heart disease, with tinnitus being 8.6 times more likely for those who identified as having moderate/a lot of hearing loss. Those with any level of hearing loss were 3 to 5 times more likely to self-report heart disease. Regarding lifestyle factors, individuals with any level of hearing loss were less likely to consume alcohol and 2.5 to 9 times more likely to be unable to engage in moderate or vigorous activity on a weekly basis, respectively. Conclusions: There is a difference in the health status of individuals with hearing loss across all three areas examined (chronic disease states and general health status, medical screening behaviors, and lifestyle behaviors), and those differences vary based on level of hearing loss, the most notable being the self-reported inability to engage in moderate and vigorous physical activity. Disproportionate rates of tinnitus and heart disease were evident in all levels of hearing loss but most notable in those identifying as having moderate/a lot of trouble hearing. Further interdisciplinary research is necessary to improve the health of individuals with all levels of hearing loss, increase awareness of the hearing/health connection, and decrease hearing loss in general.

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Background and Purpose: Alcohol intoxication affects college students' eating patterns. Yet, little is known about dietary habits on the day after heavy alcohol consumption. The purpose of this study was to examine college students’ dietary choices during alcohol consumption and on the following day by gender and level of alcohol consumption (including none). Methods: Ethnically diverse undergraduates (N = 286; 52% male, 48% female, M age = 19, SD age = 1) at a public university in the Midwest completed an anonymous on-line survey. The survey included Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System nutrition items, items on consumption of "empty calorie foods," and open-ended response items on dietary choices that were coded by a nutritionist. Results: Participants reported differences in the likelihoods of consuming non-nutrient dense foods after drinking alcohol both before sleeping and the next day compared to at other times when they were not consuming alcohol. Conclusion: College students are more likely to eat after drinking alcohol and tend to consume less healthy foods. These dietary practices necessitate the need for customized interventions focusing on the dietary influences of alcohol consumption.

Purpose Despite evidence supporting the positive implications of hearing conservation programs (HCPs) on hearing loss prevention among children, healthy hearing habits are often not taught in schools. To address the need for more hearing health education in schools, we investigated the feasibility of a teacher-implemented HCP and its impact on fourth-grade students. Method A speech-language pathology graduate student trained a science teacher from a local elementary school to implement a modified version of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's HCP, Listen to Your Buds , to 56 fourth-grade students. After completing a pre-intervention questionnaire, students received a 45-min interactive HCP, with posttesting occurring immediately afterward and 4 weeks later. Students answered questions to measure their hearing-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors as a result of participation in the HCP. Results Immediately following the program, students' knowledge of potentially damaging noises increased, as well as did their attitudes toward noise exposure. Students' responses remained similar one month after the HCP as well. However, few students reported behavioral changes related to potentially damaging noise exposure. Conclusions A single 45-min intervention did not appear to change students' intentions for future behaviors regarding healthy hearing habits; however, results indicate that students increased their knowledge and improved their attitudes, which may indeed impact future behavior when confronted with potentially damaging noise exposure. Although Listen to Your Buds materials are no longer accessible online, we provide recommendations for school-based speech-language pathologists and educational audiologists to develop and implement an HCP in their school.

Objectives To outline the prevalence and disparities of hearing problems among school-aged urban minority youth, causal pathways through which hearing problems adversely affect academic achievement, and proven or promising approaches for schools and parents to address these problems. Methods Literature review. Results Most school-aged youth will experience a temporary, fluctuating hearing loss at least once and about 20% of U.S. adolescents have some kind of permanent hearing problem. When nationally representative samples of hearing loss among youth under age18 were conducted, those from lower socioeconomic families were more likely to have a hearing loss (23.6%) than those from families above the poverty threshold. Hearing screening is widespread in schools, but the benefits are jeopardized by non-standardization, inadequate methods for commonly occurring losses, and lack of follow-up. Conclusions Hearing problems are disproportionately prevalent among school-aged urban minority youth, and have a negative impact on academic achievement through sensory perceptions, cognition, and school connectedness. Effective practices are available for schools to address these problems. To better realize the benefits of current investments in screening, programs will require improved prevention efforts and follow-up/coordination between agencies conducting screening, school nurses, teachers, speech-language pathologists (SLPs), audiologists, parents, and in some cases, physicians and community resources.