{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T23:21:05Z","timestamp":1790724065886,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,3,22]],"date-time":"2024-03-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1711065600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Laryngoscope Investig Oto"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2024,4]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:sec><jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title><jats:p>To examine the prevalence of cerumen impaction in a nationally representative sample of the US population and the association of cerumen impaction with sociodemographic factors, hearing loss, and tinnitus.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>The cohort included 14,230 individuals aged \u226512\u2009years who completed otoscopy and audiometry in NHANES (2005\u20132016). Cerumen impaction (partial\/complete) was determined by otoscopy. Hearing level was defined by speech\u2010frequency pure\u2010tone average (PTA). Multivariable regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with cerumen impaction.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>The prevalence of any cerumen impaction was 18.6% [95% CI: 17.3%\u201319.9%] among individuals \u226512\u2009years and 32.4% [29.9%\u201335.1%] among those \u226570\u2009years. The prevalence of bilateral partial and complete cerumen impaction was 6.3% [5.6%\u20137.1%] and 1.2% [1.0%\u20131.9%], respectively. Any cerumen impaction was associated with male sex (OR 1.77 [1.5\u20132.1]), identifying as Black race (vs. Caucasian, OR: 1.78 [1.5\u20132.9]), lower level of education (OR: 0.84 [0.71\u20130.98]), and older age (OR: 1.02 [1.01\u20131.03]). After adjusting for sociodemographic and clinical factors, complete impaction was associated with increased PTA (right ear: \u03b2\u2009=\u20094.1\u2009dB [2.4\u20135.8\u2009dB], left ear: \u03b2\u2009=\u20091.9\u2009dB [0.46\u20133.4\u2009dB]), but not with tinnitus.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title><jats:p>Cerumen impaction is highly prevalent in the US population, especially among older adults, and has disproportionate sociodemographic impacts. Complete impaction is associated with a small, statistically significant elevation in PTA, but there is no association with tinnitus. These findings emphasize the need to implement and disseminate best practices for ear hygiene and cerumen management broadly and equitably.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Level of Evidence<\/jats:title><jats:p>2B<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1002\/lio2.1228","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,3,22]],"date-time":"2024-03-22T12:24:03Z","timestamp":1711110243000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Cerumen impaction: Prevalence and associated factors in the United States population"],"prefix":"10.1002","volume":"9","author":[{"given":"McKenzie M.","family":"Tolan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Otolaryngology\u2010Head &amp; Neck Surgery University of Minnesota  Minneapolis Minnesota USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8840-9411","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Janet S.","family":"Choi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Otolaryngology\u2010Head &amp; Neck Surgery University of Minnesota  Minneapolis Minnesota USA"},{"name":"Caruso Department of Otolaryngology\u2014Head and Neck Surgery University of Southern California  Los Angeles California USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-9059-5907","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria T.","family":"Tibesar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of North Dakota Medical School  Grand Forks North Dakota USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7962-3475","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Meredith E.","family":"Adams","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Otolaryngology\u2010Head &amp; Neck Surgery University of Minnesota  Minneapolis Minnesota 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