Table 1

Prevalence of hearing difficulties and tinnitus in subjects with and without cold induced finger blanching

Severe hearing difficultyPersistent tinnitus
Never blanched *No. (%)Ever blanched *No. (%)†PR (95% CI)Never blanched *No. (%)Ever blanched *No. (%)†PR (95% CI)
*A few respondents did not answer all of the questions so denominators for prevalences vary.
†Prevalence ratios were adjusted for age (35–44, 45–54, and 55–64 years) and years of occupational exposure to noise (<1, 1–5, 6–10, >10).
Men
    All men71 (2.4)35 (8.0)2.2 (1.4 to 3.3)234 (7.1)51 (10.3)1.1 (0.8 to 1.5)
    Never exposed to noise20 (1.4)5 (3.9)2.2 (0.8 to 5.9)75 (4.5)10 (6.8)1.4 (0.7 to 2.6)
    Never exposed to HTV29 (1.9)7 (5.1)2.1 (0.9 to 4.7)107 (6.3)9 (6.0)0.8 (0.4 to 1.5)
Women
    All women42 (1.9)12 (2.9)1.4 (0.8 to 2.7)92 (3.5)25 (5.0)1.4 (0.9 to 2.1)
    Never exposed to noise29 (1.6)10 (3.1)1.9 (1.0 to 3.9)60 (2.8)15 (4.0)1.4 (0.8 to 2.4)
    Never exposed to HTV33 (1.7)10 (3.1)1.8 (0.9 to 3.6)74 (3.3)12 (3.1)0.9 (0.5 to 1.7)