Relationship between ideal cardiovascular health metrics and hearing loss: A 10-year retrospective cohort study

Association of Hearing Loss and Eating Habits in the Older Population

BACKGROUND

Age-related hearing loss, also known as hearing loss, is an important and increasingly prevalent public health problem worldwide, as it induces disability and social isolation.

OBJECTIVE

To verify the association between eating habits and hearing loss in the older population.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study with data analysis of older patients treated in an Outpatient Hearing Health Service accredited to the Unified Health System. Older people aged 60 years and over who attended the Health Service to begin adaptation in the study. The audiological evaluation was performed through Tonal and Vocal Audiometry exams, the auditory rehabilitation process was done using the Individual Sound Amplification Device, and eating habits based on the Dietary Guide for the Brazilian Population.

RESULTS

The sample included (n = 654) participants, aged between 60 and 97 years. The type of hearing loss revealed a higher prevalence of sensorineural of moderate degree. Individuals with higher consumption of tea, non-fatty meats, rice, fish, and fruits presented better hearing compared to participants with lower consumption of these types of foods.

CONCLUSION

A higher consumption of foods high in anti-inflammatories and antioxidants may decrease the risk of age-related hearing loss. A higher consumption of foods high in anti-inflammatories and antioxidants may decrease 50% of the risk of age-related hearing loss. The findings also indicate the hypothesis that a pro-inflammatory diet could increase the risk of hearing loss. Antioxidants are believed to counteract the deleterious effects of reactive oxygen species and may be effective in treating diseases related to oxidative stress, including hearing loss.

Prevalence and risk factors of self-reported hearing loss, tinnitus, and dizziness in a population-based sample from rural northeastern Germany

A close anatomical and physiological relationship is known between the senses of hearing and balance, while an additional pathophysiological interaction is supposed. The mechanisms underlying this association are not yet fully understood, especially in individuals without a known specific otologic disorder. In particular, only scarce information on the combined occurrence of audiovestibular sensory impairment is available so far. Therefore, this study aims to provide further insight into the prevalence and co-prevalence of the audiovestibular symptoms hearing loss, tinnitus and dizziness. Additionally, the influence of potential risk factors from lifestyle habits as well as cardiovascular and metabolic conditions on the development of those symptoms is studied. Data was analyzed from 8134 individuals from the population-based Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP). SHIP pursues a broad and comprehensive examination program in chronologically separated cohorts with longitudinal follow-up. Cohorts are sampled from Western Pomerania, a rural region of north-eastern Germany. The study population represents a cross-sectional analysis from the cohorts SHIP-START (recruited 1997-2001) and SHIP-TREND (recruited 2008-2012), sampled for baseline investigations (SHIP-START-0 and SHIP-TREND-0) at the age of 20-79 years. Audiovestibular symptoms as outcome variables were assessed by structured questionnaires. Additionally, individuals were comprehensively characterized regarding modifiable lifestyle factors as well as cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, allowing the assessment of their role as exposure variables. We calculated a weighted prevalence of 14.2% for hearing loss, 9.7% for tinnitus, and 13.5% for dizziness in the population. Prevalence increased with age and differed among the sexes. A considerable share of 28.0% of the investigated individuals reported more than one symptom at once. The prevalence of hearing loss as well as tinnitus increased between the two cohorts. A moderate positive correlation was found between the occurrence of hearing loss and tinnitus (phi-coefficient 0.318). In multivariable regression analyses, education was identified as a significant protective factor while only smoking was significantly associated with all three symptoms. Furthermore, several cardiovascular risk factors contributed to both hearing loss and dizziness. In conclusion, audiovestibular symptoms are highly prevalent in the investigated population. A considerable but complex influence of risk factors points towards a relation with neuronal as well as cardiovascular disease processes. To clarify the underlying mechanisms, the interaction between the senses of hearing and balance as well as the mode of action of the risk factors should be evaluated in more detail in the future.

Establishing multifactorial risk factors for adult-onset hearing loss: A systematic review with topic modelling and synthesis of epidemiological evidence

BACKGROUND

This systematic review explores the multifaceted nature of risk factors contributing to adult-onset HL. The objective was to synthesise the most recent epidemiological evidence to generate pooled proportional incidences for the identified risk factors.

METHODS

We conducted an extensive search of electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, and psychINFO) for studies providing epidemiological evidence of risk factors associated with hearing loss. Topic modelling using Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) was first conducted to determine how many risk factor themes were available from the papers. Data were analysed by calculating the pooled proportional incidence using a meta-analysis of proportions.

RESULTS

From the 72 studies reviewed, six key risk factor themes emerged through LDA topic modelling. The review identified ototoxicity, primarily caused by cancer treatments and antibiotics, infectious diseases like COVID-19, occupational noise exposure, lifestyle factors, health conditions, biological responses, and age progression as significant risk factors for HL. The highest proportional incidence was found with cancer-related ototoxicity at 55.4% (95%CI: 39.0-70.7), followed closely by ototoxicity from infectious diseases at 50.0% (95%CI: 28.5-71.5). This high proportional incidence suggests the need to explore less destructive therapies and proactively monitor hearing function during treatments.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings of this review, combined with the synthesis of epidemiological evidence, enhance our understanding of hearing loss (HL) pathogenesis and highlight potential areas for intervention, thereby paving the way for more effective prevention and management of adult-onset hearing loss in our ageing global population.