Hearing ResearchPub Date : 2025-07-09DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2025.109300
Shichun He , Meiqi Wei , Deyu Meng , Zongnan Lv , Guang Yang , Ziheng Wang
{"title":"Investigating the causal relationship between circulating inflammatory proteins and tinnitus: Insights from a Mendelian Randomization study","authors":"Shichun He , Meiqi Wei , Deyu Meng , Zongnan Lv , Guang Yang , Ziheng Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.heares.2025.109300","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.heares.2025.109300","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Tinnitus, a condition characterized by the perception of ringing in the ears, significantly impacts quality of life, yet its underlying biological mechanisms remain poorly understood. Emerging evidence suggests a role for inflammation in tinnitus pathophysiology. This study employs a bidirectional two-sample Mendelian Randomization (MR) approach to investigate the causal relationship between circulating inflammatory proteins and tinnitus. Genetic data from large-scale pQTL and GWAS datasets were analyzed to identify potential causal links. The results reveal that elevated levels of CCL19, CXCL11, and TNFSF12 are positively associated with tinnitus risk, while CD40L and IL-10 exhibit protective effects. Reverse MR analysis suggests that tinnitus may weakly influence levels of Cystatin D, IL-18, and MCP-1, though these associations require further validation. These findings provide novel insights into the inflammatory pathways involved in tinnitus, paving the way for targeted therapeutic strategies and future research into anti-inflammatory interventions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12881,"journal":{"name":"Hearing Research","volume":"465 ","pages":"Article 109300"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144596149","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Investigation of intracochlear electrical fields with spread of excitation and voltage matrix in cochlear implant users and their link to speech perception","authors":"Pascal Nachtigäller , Tobias Weissgerber , Uwe Baumann , Tobias Rader","doi":"10.1016/j.heares.2025.109357","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.heares.2025.109357","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Objective measures and their relation to listening performance are of interest in the study of cochlear implants (CIs). Both spread of excitation (SoE) and the voltage matrix (VM) are objective descriptors of electric field spread. VM is easier to measure and therefore preferable to SoE. The aim of the study was comparing both measurements postoperatively and investigating their relation to listening performance.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Postoperative SoE and VM data for 10 out of 17 CI-users were normalized to their maximum amplitude before comparison. A previously published SoE-width-based analysis method (Rader et al., 2023) was adapted and applied to the VM data. The ECAP separation index (from Hughes, 2008), comparing SoE data of two neighboring electrodes, was also adapted to the VM data of 17 CI-users and correlated with speech perception.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Recorded SoE and VM data correlated strongly in most CI-users. The normalized SoE and VM data showed good alignment. Some deviations were observable: an average RMS-difference of 0.159 normalized amplitude was found between SoE and VM data. Asymmetric width measures extracted from exponential fitting differed significantly between SoE and VM data. No correlation between width measures and speech perception could be found. The VM separation index correlated with speech perception.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>SoE and VM are closely related measurements, however they are not identical. The neural information in SoE can’t be ignored and VM can’t replace SoE. The VM separation index appeared to be a promising approach for predicting listening performance. Nevertheless, further research is required to corroborate this finding.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12881,"journal":{"name":"Hearing Research","volume":"465 ","pages":"Article 109357"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144587658","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hearing ResearchPub Date : 2025-07-05DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2025.109358
Samantha A. Radomski, D․ Susana Llanes-Coronel, Ava M. Kruse, A․ Catalina Vélez-Ortega
{"title":"TRPA1 deficiency affects cochlear potentials days after noise exposure","authors":"Samantha A. Radomski, D․ Susana Llanes-Coronel, Ava M. Kruse, A․ Catalina Vélez-Ortega","doi":"10.1016/j.heares.2025.109358","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.heares.2025.109358","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>TRPA1 channels are master sensors of tissue damage. We recently showed that, after acoustic trauma, TRPA1 activation in cochlear supporting cells regulates hearing sensitivity and is a component of the temporary threshold shift. In the neonate organ of Corti, TRPA1 activation in the Hensen’s cells leads to prolonged calcium responses that propagate across the organ of Corti and cause long-lasting tissue displacements. In the adult cochlea, such tissue shape changes would be expected to affect the geometry and/or stiffness of the cochlear partition and, consequently, cochlear amplification. However, we still lack direct evidence of TRPA1-mediated changes to cochlear mechanics in adult mice. Here, we extracted remote cochlear microphonic (rCM) and summating potential (SP) data from auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) to evaluate noise-induced changes to these cochlear potentials that depend on TRPA1 signaling. Our results show significant differences in SP amplitudes of click-evoked ABRs between <em>Trpa1<sup>–/–</sup></em> mice and wild-type littermates. However, five days after noise exposure, the SP differences were no longer observed likely due to an overall reduction in rCM amplitudes in the <em>Trpa1<sup>–/–</sup></em> mice which was not seen in wild-type littermates. In addition, mice exhibited a direct current (DC) shift in the rCM elicited by an 8 kHz tone burst as the sound intensity increased, which was delayed in <em>Trpa1<sup>–/–</sup></em> mice. Our results indicate that TRPA1 signaling after loud sound stimulation triggers changes in the cochlear transducer, but the specific mechanisms underlying these changes and whether they minimize noise-induced tissue damage remain to be elucidated.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12881,"journal":{"name":"Hearing Research","volume":"465 ","pages":"Article 109358"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144605155","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hearing ResearchPub Date : 2025-07-04DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2025.109356
Darcey A Kirwin, Nina Treder, Elisa Martelletti, Daniel R Pentland, Rechal Kumar, Neil J Ingham, Karen P Steel
{"title":"Low level of expression of known deafness genes Kcne1, Kcnj10 or Col4a3 is sufficient to maintain hearing in mice","authors":"Darcey A Kirwin, Nina Treder, Elisa Martelletti, Daniel R Pentland, Rechal Kumar, Neil J Ingham, Karen P Steel","doi":"10.1016/j.heares.2025.109356","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.heares.2025.109356","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Kcne1, Kcnj10</em> and <em>Col4a3</em> are all expressed in the stria vascularis where they serve critical roles in generating the endocochlear potential. Mutations in any of these three genes are linked to human deafness syndromes for which there are currently no treatments. Here, the hearing ability of three mouse lines carrying mutant alleles in these genes (<em>Kcne1<sup>tm1a</sup>, Kcnj10<sup>tm1a</sup></em> and <em>Col4a3<sup>tm1a</sup></em>) was investigated to assess whether they would develop an auditory phenotype similar to that of human patients. Surprisingly, all three mutant mice had normal hearing, at least up to 6 months of age, assessed by auditory brainstem response thresholds and waveforms and endocochlear potentials. Marginal cell arrangement in the stria vascularis was normal in <em>Col4a3<sup>tm1a/tm1a</sup></em> mice at 8 weeks of age but showed evidence of early cellular disorganisation in <em>Kcnj10<sup>tm1a/tm1a</sup></em> and <em>Kcne1<sup>tm1a/tm1a</sup></em> mice. We found that the <em>Kcne1<sup>tm1a</sup>, Kcnj10<sup>tm1a</sup></em> and <em>Col4a3<sup>tm1a</sup></em> mutations led to incomplete knockdown of transcript, to 25 % of normal values in each case, indicating these are hypomorphic alleles. These results suggest that partial restoration of <em>KCNE1, KCNJ10</em> and <em>COL4A3</em> expression in patients affected by mutations in these genes may be sufficient to preserve auditory function.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12881,"journal":{"name":"Hearing Research","volume":"465 ","pages":"Article 109356"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144587660","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hearing ResearchPub Date : 2025-07-03DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2025.109343
Václav Vencovský , Zbyněk Bureš
{"title":"Effect of stimulus level on speech masking by multitalker noise in a cochlear model","authors":"Václav Vencovský , Zbyněk Bureš","doi":"10.1016/j.heares.2025.109343","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.heares.2025.109343","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Previous research shows that intelligibility of speech in noise (SIN) with a constant speech-to-noise ratio (SNR) changes in dependence on overall stimulus level. It has been hypothesized that these changes were associated with nonlinear responses of the cochlear basilar membrane, however, the exact role of auditory periphery in this behavior is not clear. We explore this phenomenon using a nonlinear cochlear model with adjustable gain to examine how multi-talker (babble) noise affects the speech signal at the output of the auditory periphery. The amount of distortion at various intensities caused by babble noise is calculated by correlating the model responses to speech alone and to SIN with a constant speech-to-noise ratio of −5 dB. The model shows that both 5% quantile and the mean value of the cross-correlation coefficient increase with stimulus level from 30 to 60–70 dB SPL and then decline for levels between 70 dB and 90 dB SPL, indicating that babble noise represents a less effective masker at intermediate intensities and its influence is strongest at both low and high levels. In addition, reduction of the gain of the cochlear amplifier decreases the cross-correlation, leading to worsened SIN intelligibility. Altogether, while not ruling out possible central contributions, our results offer a plausible peripheral mechanism suggesting that the level dependence of SIN intelligibility has its origins already in peripheral processing and that cochlear amplification plays an important role in this process.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12881,"journal":{"name":"Hearing Research","volume":"465 ","pages":"Article 109343"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144587661","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hearing ResearchPub Date : 2025-07-03DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2025.109351
Maialen Ugarteburu , Aliah F. Shaheen , Christoph Rau , Luis Cardoso , Claus-Peter Richter , Alessandra Carriero
{"title":"Hearing function and ossicular deformities and fractures in the oim mouse model of brittle bone disease","authors":"Maialen Ugarteburu , Aliah F. Shaheen , Christoph Rau , Luis Cardoso , Claus-Peter Richter , Alessandra Carriero","doi":"10.1016/j.heares.2025.109351","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.heares.2025.109351","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Hearing loss is a prevalent symptom of osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), a group of collagen type I-related skeletal disorders, commonly known as <em>brittle bone disease</em>. Clinical manifestation of hearing loss in OI often presents with stapes footplate fixation and hypodense foci in the otic capsule. However, the etiology and evolution of OI-hearing loss and its relation to bone abnormalities are still unknown. This study investigates the onset, severity, and progression of hearing loss in the homozygous <em>oim</em> mouse model of severe OI Type III, which is reported to exhibit hearing loss at 11-12 weeks of age (Chen et al., 2007), using auditory brainstem responses up to 26 weeks of age. We further examine the presence of deformities, microcracks, and fractures of the ossicular chain using synchrotron microtomography. Our results demonstrate that <em>oim/oim</em> mice have normal hearing, regardless of i) their parental lineage, ii) their husbandry in isolation or with other animals, iii) their mastication with powder or chow food, and iv) their anesthesia with single or multiple ketamine injections. Bone abnormalities like excessive formations, fusions, and fractures, were observed in up to 33 % of wild-type and up to 43 % of <em>oim/oim</em> mice in each group. Among these, joint and bone-tendon abnormalities were twice as frequent in the <em>oim/oim</em> mice compared to the wild-type mice. Notably, these abnormalities did not impact the hearing response in mice. Whether such bone abnormalities occur and alter auditory function in humans with OI remains uncertain.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12881,"journal":{"name":"Hearing Research","volume":"465 ","pages":"Article 109351"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144614485","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hearing ResearchPub Date : 2025-07-03DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2025.109355
Tanguy Delmas , Mathieu Pham Van Cang , Grégory Gerenton , Jérôme Lefeuvre , Keith B. Doelling , Luc H. Arnal , Diane S. Lazard
{"title":"Moderate presbycusis boosts audio-visual integration, but not lip-reading","authors":"Tanguy Delmas , Mathieu Pham Van Cang , Grégory Gerenton , Jérôme Lefeuvre , Keith B. Doelling , Luc H. Arnal , Diane S. Lazard","doi":"10.1016/j.heares.2025.109355","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.heares.2025.109355","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In audiological practice, speech comprehension is typically assessed in the auditory modality alone (speech in quiet or noise). However, in real-life communication when the auditory input is degraded - due to noise or hearing loss (HL) - individuals rely on ancillary signals to enhance speech perception. Audio-visual (AV) integration is particularly effective in improving speech perception in noisy environments, yet the influence of HL and aging on this ability remains underexplored.</div><div>This study aims to disentangle the effects of HL and age on visual aspects of speech processing, both unimodally (lip-reading) and bimodally (AV integration). In sixty-five participants aged 50 and older, with hearing abilities ranging from normal to moderate HL (from 4 to 63 dB HL), we tested speech comprehension in challenging auditory, visual (lip-reading) and AV conditions using an adaptive procedure. AV gain (AV performance minus Auditory-alone performance) served as a measure of audio-visual integration.</div><div>Using multiple linear regressions and causal inference to account for the relative impact and potential interactions between HL and age, our results show that mild to moderate HL does not improve unimodal visual processing but does improve AV gain. In contrast, aging negatively impacts visual speech processing but does not directly affect AV gain.</div><div>These findings suggest that mild to moderate HL enhances the integration of visual and auditory speech cues to improve AV performance without affecting the efficacy of the visual information processing itself, while age-related decline in visual speech processing does not appear to effect overall AV integration. We propose that this reflects a form of central plasticity, in which moderate HL drives adaptive changes at high-order multimodal levels, counterbalancing age-related sensory decline in visual speech processing to maintain AV speech integration. Future research should explore how this plasticity evolves with more severe HL.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12881,"journal":{"name":"Hearing Research","volume":"465 ","pages":"Article 109355"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144605351","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hearing ResearchPub Date : 2025-07-02DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2025.109354
Jongwoo Lim , Hyun Seong Shin , Ivo Dobrev , Johannes Niermann , Christof Röösli , Yong-Jin Yoon , Namkeun Kim
{"title":"Exploring the effect of cadaver head fixation in bone conduction hearing: Insights from finite element modeling","authors":"Jongwoo Lim , Hyun Seong Shin , Ivo Dobrev , Johannes Niermann , Christof Röösli , Yong-Jin Yoon , Namkeun Kim","doi":"10.1016/j.heares.2025.109354","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.heares.2025.109354","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates the effects of head fixation method on bone conduction (BC) responses using a full head finite element model validated against experimental data. Boundary constraint variables, including fixation strength, location, height, and neck support, were systematically analyzed by varying material Young’s modulus, adjusting fixation positions, and modifying the vertical position of fixation points. Among them, fixation strength had the most significant impact on ipsilateral and contralateral cochlear promontory velocities. Firm fixation minimized interface deformation, enabling the skull’s intrinsic mechanical properties to shape promontory velocities, while loose fixation produced uniform responses regardless of skull properties. Fixation location and height showed minimal effects on ipsilateral and contralateral promontory velocities, and neck support strength exhibited negligible influence due to the dominance of soft tissue compliance. Furthermore, since the Young’s modulus of the skull can vary across cadaver specimens, its influence on bone conduction responses under different boundary constraints was also examined by changing of Young’s modulus of the cortical bone. Young’s moduli of the cortical bone significantly influenced both ipsilateral and contralateral promontory velocities under firm fixation conditions but had limited effects under loose fixation conditions. Transcranial attenuation was largely unaffected by boundary constraints, reflecting the skull's intrinsic deformation behavior. These findings highlight the critical role of head fixation method strength in BC experiments. Under loose fixation, promontory velocities were little affected by fixation location, height, or Young’s modulus of the cortical bone. By contrast, firm fixation amplifies the effect of Young’s modulus of cortical bone on promontory velocity and transcranial attenuation, making it more suitable for isolating intrinsic skull behavior. These findings demonstrate that fixation strategy must be chosen to align with the objectives of BC research.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12881,"journal":{"name":"Hearing Research","volume":"465 ","pages":"Article 109354"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144587659","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hearing ResearchPub Date : 2025-07-02DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2025.109352
Seong Hoon Bae , Heang Ran Park , Hyoyeol Kim , Jinsei Jung
{"title":"Monocyte-dependent innate immunity prevents severe complications of acute bacterial infection in the middle ear in a murine model","authors":"Seong Hoon Bae , Heang Ran Park , Hyoyeol Kim , Jinsei Jung","doi":"10.1016/j.heares.2025.109352","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.heares.2025.109352","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><div>Acute otitis media (AOM) is a common middle ear infection. The role of immune cells, particularly monocytes, in preventing complications of AOM remains unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the role of monocytes in immune response to bacterial AOM using a murine model.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Wild-type C57BL/6 mice were infected with GFP-tagged <em>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</em> (PA01) via intratympanic (IT) middle ear injection to mimic bacterial AOM. Monocyte depletion (MD) was performed using clodronate liposomes.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The survival rate after PA01 IT injection was significantly lower (<em>p</em> = 0.018) in the MD group (50.0 %, <em>n</em> = 18) than in the control group (100 %, <em>n</em> = 9). The MD group exhibited severe hearing loss 2 weeks after PA01 injection, whereas the control group showed transient hearing loss resolving by 2 weeks. Bacterial growth was significantly greater in the MD group than in the control group (<em>p</em> < 0.001).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>MD causes uncontrolled bacterial growth and leads to more severe complications. Monocyte-mediated immune responses play a critical role in preventing the severe complications of AOM, suggesting a potential target for future therapeutic strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12881,"journal":{"name":"Hearing Research","volume":"465 ","pages":"Article 109352"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144571470","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hearing ResearchPub Date : 2025-07-01DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2025.109353
Zhengheng Zhang , Longteng Jiang , Meibian Zhang , Yuan Pan , Jinnan Zheng , Anqi Liu , Weijiang Hu , Xin Jin
{"title":"Role of risk factors and their variable types in predicting noise-induced hearing loss using artificial intelligence algorithms","authors":"Zhengheng Zhang , Longteng Jiang , Meibian Zhang , Yuan Pan , Jinnan Zheng , Anqi Liu , Weijiang Hu , Xin Jin","doi":"10.1016/j.heares.2025.109353","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.heares.2025.109353","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Early prediction and warning of occupational noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) in workers is critical. This study aimed to explore the role of risk factors and their variable types to NIHL prediction through machine learning (ML) techniques. Data on exposure and NIHL were sourced from the Chinese National Occupational Disease Surveillance Programs and field measurements involving 15,160 workers. We developed predictive models based on logistic regression, three tree-based algorithms (random forest [RF], extreme gradient boosting [XGBoost], light gradient boosting machine [LGBM]), and tabular neural network [TabNet]. Eight features, including age, sex, noise exposure duration (ED), A-weighted equivalent sound pressure (L<sub>Aeq,8</sub> <sub>h</sub>), kurtosis, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and hearing protection device (HPD) usage, were evaluated through logistic regression and ML feature importance analyses. Models were trained using both original and categorized versions of the variables to compare the predictive value of variable types and assess the applicability of each algorithm. Multivariate logistic regression indicated that age, noise ED, L<sub>Aeq,8</sub> <sub>h</sub>, sex, and HPD usage were significantly associated with NIHL (<em>P</em> < 0.05). Except for logistic regression, models built with original variable types using tree-based and TabNet algorithms outperformed those using categorized type (<em>P</em> < 0.05). The LGBM model utilizing original variable types, achieved the best performance on the test set [area under the curve (AUC) of 0.745 (95 % CI 0.729–0.763)]. Feature importance analysis revealed that L<sub>Aeq,8</sub> <sub>h</sub> (LGBM), sex (XGBoost), age (RF), and kurtosis (TabNet) were key predictive variables, consistent with logistic regression results. Our study concludes that continuous variable type of risk factors provided superior predictive value compared to categorized type for NIHL. Tree-based and TabNet algorithms offer effective methods for assessing and predicting NIHL.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12881,"journal":{"name":"Hearing Research","volume":"465 ","pages":"Article 109353"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144563780","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}