Hearing Loss and other Health Co-morbidities Reported in Farmers and Ranchers
Jan Moore, PhD, University of Nebraska Kearney
mooreja2@unk.edu
Jan Moore is a professor in the University of Nebraska Kearney in the department of communication disorders. She has completed graduate work in Public Health at the University of Nebraska College of Public Health in addition to her training in Audiology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Purdue University.
Learning objectives:
- Participants will be able give examples of health comorbidities associated with hearing loss.
- Participants will be able to give examples of how protocols can be modified for the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Participants will be able to list the relationship with hearing loss and self-reported health issues.
Discuss this presentation with the authors on Thursday, November 19 from noon – 12:30 on the Zoom Live-stream.
Sensorineural hearing loss associated with noise exposure is a chronic health condition in agricultural workers involved in row crop and livestock production. Hearing loss negatively impacts communication and other aspects of health including balance, cardiovascular health, mental health, and cognitive skills. Hearing loss prior to the age of 60 is the most important preventable risk factor related to the development of cognitive decline and dementia. The initial goal of this project is to examine the hearing status and cognitive skills of aging farmers and ranchers over the age of 50. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic our data collection was halted and our protocol has been modified for the near future. Our modified protocol includes a self-assessment of hearing status and impact of hearing on communication, tinnitus, sleep disorders, balance, concussion, falls, and concomitant health concerns using both web-based and face-to-face surveys. Data will be collected at agricultural fairs and shows in summer and early fall. Results will provide novel information on the relationship of hearing and self-reported comorbidites in older agricultural workers. This presentation will report those survey findings.
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