Association between polymorphism of tumor necrosis factor alpha (tnfα) in the region -308 g/a with tinnitus in the elderly with a history of occupational noise exposure.

<bold>Context: </bold>Tinnitus is a common disorder that occurs frequently across all strata of population and has an important health concern and is often associated with different forms of the hearing loss of varying severity.<bold>Aims: </bold>To investigate the association between the polymorphism of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) in the region -308 G/A with the susceptibility to tinnitus in individuals with the history of exposure to occupational noise.<bold>Settings and Design: </bold>This was a cross-sectional study with a sample of 179 independent elderly people above 60 years of age.<bold>Materials and Methods: </bold>Information on exposure to occupational noise was obtained by interviews. Audiological evaluation was performed using pure tone audiometry and genotyped through polymerase chain reaction by restriction fragment length polymorphism.<bold>Statistical Analysis Used: </bold>Data were analyzed using the chi-square test and the odds ratio (OR), with the significance level set at 5%.<bold>Results: </bold>Among elderly with tinnitus (43.01%), 33.76% had a history of exposure to occupational noise. A statistically significant association was found between genotype frequencies of the TNFα gene in the -308 G/A region and the complaint of tinnitus (P = 0.04 and χ2 = 4.19). The elderly with the G allele were less likely to have tinnitus due to occupational noise exposure when compared to those carrying the A allele (OR = 2.74; 95% CI: 1.56-4.81; P < 0.0005).<bold>Conclusion: </bold>This study suggests an association between the TNFα with susceptibility to tinnitus in individuals with a history of exposure to occupational noise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]