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PURPOSE: Two earlier reports indicated that cardiovascular fitness attenuates susceptibility to noise-induced temporary threshold shift (TTS) in hearing sensitivity; however, other parameters of fitness also may be related to this phenomenon. This study investigated the association of three different physical fitness indicators on TTS. METHODS: Maximal aerobic power (VO2max), body composition. and recent activity history were determined in 33 normal-hearing females of various fitness levels. Audiometric thresholds were obtained at 2000, 3000, 4000, and 6000 Hz before and immediately after 10 min of exposure to 108-dB SPL narrow-band noise centered at 2000 Hz. RESULTS: All postnoise measurements were significantly less than prenoise measurements (P < 0.0001) with the greatest TTS occurring at 3000 Hz. Similarly, the strongest Pearson-product correlations for VO2max, % fat, and recent activity history with TTS occurred at 3000 Hz (r = -0.68, 0.60, -0.59, respectively; P < 0.05). Canonical correlation analysis indicated a moderate correlation between physical fitness and TTS (Rc = 0.71: P < 0.01). Individually, VO2max, % fat, and recent activity history had correlations of -0.70, 0.62, and -0.63, respectively, to the TTS canonical variable. CONCLUSIONS: From these results, we concluded that there is a moderate association of physical fitness and diminished temporary hearing loss experienced after noise exposure.
Kolkhorst et al. (1998) studied this question.