Association of sudden sensorineural hearing loss with increased risk of insomnia: a nationwide population-based cohort study

Cha Dong Yeo; Sang Woo Yeom; Yeon Seok You; Jong Seung Kim; Eun Jung Lee

doi:10.5664/jcsm.9864

Association of sudden sensorineural hearing loss with increased risk of insomnia: a nationwide population-based cohort study

J Clin Sleep Med. 2022 May 1;18(5):1335-1342. doi: 10.5664/jcsm.9864.

Authors

Cha Dong Yeo^{1

2}, Sang Woo Yeom^{1

3}, Yeon Seok You^{1

2}, Jong Seung Kim^{1

2

3}, Eun Jung Lee^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju, Korea.
² Research Institute of Clinical Medicine of Jeonbuk National University-Biomedical Research Institute, Jeonbuk National University Hospital, Jeonju, Korea.
³ Department of Medical Informatics, College of Medicine, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju, Korea.

Abstract

Study objectives: To evaluate the risk of insomnia in patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL).

Methods: A retrospective propensity score-matched cohort study was conducted using a nationwide representative sample from the National Sample Cohort 2002-2013 data from the Korea National Health Insurance Service. The SSNHL group (n = 631) included patients diagnosed with SSNHL between January 2002 and December 2005. The comparison group (4 controls for every patient with SSNHL, n = 2,524) was selected using propensity score matching, according to sociodemographic factors and the year of enrollment. Each patient was monitored until 2013. Survival analysis, log-rank test, and Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to calculate the incidence, survival rate, and hazard ratio (HR) of insomnia for each group.

Results: Among the 3,155 individuals included in the study population (male, 48.6%), the overall incidence of insomnia during the 11-year follow-up was 1.4-fold higher in the SSNHL group than in the non-SSNHL group (106.3 vs 138.3 per 10,000 person-years; adjusted HR, 1.38; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.08-1.78). Moreover, the adjusted HRs for developing insomnia (depression, 3.33 [95% CI, 2.22-5.01]; anxiety, 1.78 [95% CI, 1.27-2.53]; tinnitus, 1.56 [95% CI, 1.2-2.03]; dizziness, 1.76 [95% CI, 1.27-2.44]) were higher in patients with comorbidities.

Conclusions: This observational study suggests that SSNHL is associated with an increased incidence of insomnia. Specifically, findings from this study show that patients with tinnitus, depression, anxiety, and dizziness had a higher risk of developing insomnia than those without tinnitus, depression, anxiety, and dizziness.

Citation: Yeo CD, Yeom SW, You YS, Kim JS, Lee EJ. Association of sudden sensorineural hearing loss with increased risk of insomnia: a nationwide population-based cohort study. J Clin Sleep Med. 2022;18(5):1335-1342.

Keywords: cohort; insomnia; nationwide; risk factors; sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

Publication types

Observational Study
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Cohort Studies
Dizziness / complications
Hearing Loss, Sensorineural* / complications
Hearing Loss, Sensorineural* / epidemiology
Hearing Loss, Sudden* / complications
Hearing Loss, Sudden* / epidemiology
Humans
Incidence
Male
Retrospective Studies
Risk Factors
Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders* / complications
Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders* / epidemiology
Tinnitus* / complications
Tinnitus* / epidemiology