Leisure‐time physical activity and incidence of objectively assessed hearing loss: The Niigata Wellness Study

Previous cohort study reported that high physical activity was associated with a low risk of self‐reported hearing loss in women. However, no studies have examined the association between physical activity and the development of hearing loss as measured using an objective assessment of hearing loss in men and women. Here, we used cohort data to examine the association between leisure‐time physical activity and incidence of objectively assessed hearing loss in men and women. Participants included 27 537 Japanese adults aged 20–80 years without hearing loss, who completed a self‐administered physical activity questionnaire between April 2001 and March 2002. The participants were followed up for the development of hearing loss as measured by audiometry between April 2002 and March 2008. During follow‐up, 3691 participants developed hearing loss. Compared with the none physical activity group, multivariable adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for developing hearing loss were 0.93 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.86–1.01) and 0.87 (0.81–0.95) for the medium (