(886) Symptoms Burden of Hearing Impairment, Dizziness and Imbalance Among Cancer Survivors: A Population-Based Analysis

Introduction: There are currently more than 18 million cancer survivors in the US. As survival rates improve, surveillance and intervention for morbidity related to treatment, such as oto- and vestibulo-toxicity is important. Herein, we estimate population level burdens of self-reported dizziness, imbalance, and hearing loss among cancer survivors.

Methods: We analyzed National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data from adults in 1999-2004 and 2021-2023 cycles. Self-reported hearing and hearing aid use were used to identify hearing impairments, while questions related to concerns with dizziness and imbalancewere used to identify dizziness/balance impairments. Survey-weighted logistic regression was used to estimate the odds of impairment and multinomial logistic regression was used to estimate the odds of impairment severity (none, single or dual impairment), with cancer history as the primary predictor. Models were adjusted for demographics, education, smoking, and comorbidity burden.

Results: A history of cancer was associated with 55% higher odds of any impairment (aOR 1.55, 95% CI 1.33-1.80). When evaluated independently, higher odds of dizziness/balance impairment (aOR 1.36, 95% CI 1.17-1.59) and hearing impairment (aOR 1.32, 95% CI 1.13-1.54) were observed among cancer survivors. In multinomial model, cancer survivors had greater odds of a single impairment (aOR 1.47, 95% CI 1.26-1.71) and dual impairment (aOR 1.44, 95% CI 1.09-1.9) versus none.

Conclusions: Hearing loss and dizziness are likely to contribute to decreased quality of life and safety. Our results suggest higher rates of symptoms burden among survivors and the need for further work evaluating routine use of screenings for possible oto- and vestibulo-toxicities.