Apple introduced the ability to track your exposure to noise level on the Apple Watch back in 2019. The company too launched three clinical studies in addition to that function, including one to investigate hearing health. Now, just over a year later, Apple is sharing some preliminary results in time for World Hearing.
For the Apple Hearing Study, Apple teamed up with the University of Michigan to look at how daily exposure to noise can affect hearing over time. In a briefing, Dr. Rick Neitzel of the University of Michigan notes that the “thousands” participants in the study voluntarily provided their data and, in addition to regular questionnaires, also regularly participated in hearing tests. The study also looked at noise exposure from headphones and was not necessarily limited to data collected with the Apple Watch. For example, exposure data from headphones can also be collected from the iPhone and iPad. That said, the researchers were able to get more detailed data from watch users, including environmental noise, heart rate, heart rate variations and exercise.
According to Neitzel, one intriguing takeaway of the early data is which is one in five participants experienced some type of hearing loss, according to World Health Organization guidelines, and that there appears to be a link between chronic environmental noise and cardiovascular disease. Also, almost 50% of the participants are currently, or previously worked, in a loud workplace. Another surprising side effect was that despite Covid-19 lockdowns, many participants still had high environmental noise exposure (although the overall noise exposure was almost cut in halfAbout 10% of the participants had also been professionally diagnosed with hearing loss, but despite that diagnosis 75% of them did not use supportive aids such as hearing aids or cochlear implants. Another 10% had mean headphone noise exposure exceeding weekly WHO limits, and 20% had a daily exposure above the daily WHO limits. Another sobering finding was that 25% regularly experienced ringing in their ears tinnitus a few times a week and that nearly 50% had not had their hearing tested by a professional in at least a decade.
The findings are actually quite impressive when you consider the scale and the detailed data that wearables can report with just passive healthmonitoringA. big problem that can occur with health research is that the findings could come from a limited sample that may not be indicative of the general population or has an inherent bias (i.e., not enough BIPOC subjects, etc.) Wearables actually allow you to conduct continuous research with a lot, much larger proportion of the population. The Apple Heart StudyFor example, it managed to get 400,000 participants in eight months, making it the largest virtual study so far.
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On that front, Neitzel said that he believes the participants in the Apple Hearing Study are generally accurate representative of the general population. He also noted that accessing location data, for example, can help researchers search for more esoteric patterns. For example, researchers can now ask questions such as, “Is hearing loss worse in an area with more air pollution?”
The Apple Hearing Study is still ongoing, Neitzel noted there is still more to learn. In particular, Neitzel pointed to understand how typical noise exposure and listening patterns from headphones may affect future hearing health, including tinnitus, and to further explore the relationship between hearing and cardiovascular health. In the meantime, though, it’s probably a good idea if we all turn down the volume on our headphones.