Work ability among workers with hearing loss: longitudinal findings from the Lifelines cohort study
Abstract
Background: Hearing loss (HL) among workers is negatively associated with work outcomes, such as need for recovery after work, sick leave, and sustainable employability. Studies on work ability (WA) among workers with HL are scarce. We did not find longitudinal studies on this topic in the literature. We investigated how HL was associated with WA and how WA developed over a 7-year period among workers with HL.
Methods: We used data from Lifelines, a prospective population-based cohort study examining the health and health-related behaviours of 167.729 Dutch participants. After applying in- and exclusion criteria, N = 27.001 participants with paid work and aged 18-67 years were included. We examined the mean Work Ability Score (WAS) and standard deviation (SD) of workers with self-reported HL and normally hearing workers, at wave 1C (2012-2015) and wave 3A (2019-2023). To examine the longitudinal relationship between and WA and self-reported HL over a 7-year follow-up period, we used a linear mixed-effects model. All analyses were adjusted for age, sex and educational attainment.
Results: Cross-sectional results showed that, at both wave 1C and wave 3A, workers with HL had lower WAS scores than normally hearing workers. WAS at wave 1C: 8.06 (SD 1.27) vs 8.31 (SD 1.24); WAS at wave 3A: 7.95 (SD 1.41) vs 8.23 (SD 1.26), both p < .001. Longitudinal analyses showed that workers with HL had significantly lower WAS-scores compared with normally hearing workers (β = −0.221, p < .001). No significant interaction between HL and wave was found, indicating that changes in WA over time were similar across groups.
Conclusions: HL is cross-sectionally associated with poorer WA. WA declined similarly over time among workers with and without HL. Workers with HL should be monitored for their WA and counselled on interventions, e.g. hearing aids, improved workplace acoustics and tasks involving less oral communication, to support them when experiencing problems in work participation.
Key messages: • Hearing loss is a prevalent condition among older workers and is associated with poorer work ability. Work ability declines similarly over time among workers with and without hearing loss.
• Workers with hearing loss should have their work ability monitored. When experiencing problems in work participation, they should be counselled on interventions to support them in their work.
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BibTeX
@article{schriemer2026work,
title = {{Work ability among workers with hearing loss: longitudinal findings from the Lifelines cohort study}},
author = {AG Schriemer and SH Schriemer and CAM Roelen and U Bültmann},
journal = {The European Journal of Public Health},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.465},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.465},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Work ability among workers with hearing loss: longitudinal findings from the Lifelines cohort study
AU - AG Schriemer
AU - SH Schriemer
AU - CAM Roelen
AU - U Bültmann
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - The European Journal of Public Health
DO - 10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.465
UR - https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.465
AB - Background: Hearing loss (HL) among workers is negatively associated with work outcomes, such as need for recovery after work, sick leave, and sustainable employability. Studies on work ability (WA) among workers with HL are scarce. We did not find longitudinal studies on this topic in the literature. We investigated how HL was associated with WA and how WA developed over a 7-year period among workers with HL. Methods: We used data from Lifelines, a prospective population-based cohort study examining the health and health-related behaviours of 167.729 Dutch participants. After applying in- and exclusion criteria, N = 27.001 participants with paid work and aged 18-67 years were included. We examined the mean Work Ability Score (WAS) and standard deviation (SD) of workers with self-reported HL and normally hearing workers, at wave 1C (2012-2015) and wave 3A (2019-2023). To examine the longitudinal relationship between and WA and self-reported HL over a 7-year follow-up period, we used a linear mixed-effects model. All analyses were adjusted for age, sex and educational attainment. Results: Cross-sectional results showed that, at both wave 1C and wave 3A, workers with HL had lower WAS scores than normally hearing workers. WAS at wave 1C: 8.06 (SD 1.27) vs 8.31 (SD 1.24); WAS at wave 3A: 7.95 (SD 1.41) vs 8.23 (SD 1.26), both p < .001. Longitudinal analyses showed that workers with HL had significantly lower WAS-scores compared with normally hearing workers (β = −0.221, p < .001). No significant interaction between HL and wave was found, indicating that changes in WA over time were similar across groups. Conclusions: HL is cross-sectionally associated with poorer WA. WA declined similarly over time among workers with and without HL. Workers with HL should be monitored for their WA and counselled on interventions, e.g. hearing aids, improved workplace acoustics and tasks involving less oral communication, to support them when experiencing problems in work participation. Key messages: • Hearing loss is a prevalent condition among older workers and is associated with poorer work ability. Work ability declines similarly over time among workers with and without hearing loss. • Workers with hearing loss should have their work ability monitored. When experiencing problems in work participation, they should be counselled on interventions to support them in their work.
SN - 1101-1262
SN - 1464-360X
ER -