Diet quality and hearing loss among middle–older aged adults in the USA: findings from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Abstract

Objective:To examine the associations between overall diet quality and hearing function among middle–older aged adults in the USA.Design:Cross-sectional analysis. Diet quality was examined using the Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS), using data from a single 24 h dietary recall. Hearing function was objectively measured by audiometry assessments and hearing loss, including high- and low-frequency hearing loss, was defined as pure-tone averages at specific ranges of hearing frequencies >25 dB. Weighted logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the associations of MDS (scored 0–9, categorized at the median as ≤3 or >3) with hearing loss and high- and low-frequency hearing loss.Setting:National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys 2000–2006 and 2009–2012.Participants:Adults aged ≥50 years (n 1639) with valid dietary and audiometry assessments.Results:After adjusting for potential confounders, a non-significant trend for a protective association of higher MDS was observed for hearing loss (OR = 0·78; 95 % CI 0·49, 1·23). A significant inverse association was observed for high-frequency hearing loss (OR = 0·64; 95 % CI 0·43, 0·95). No association was found for low-frequency hearing loss among women; however, higher MDS was significantly associated with higher odds of low-frequency hearing loss among men (OR = 2·63; 95 % CI 1·39, 4·95).Conclusions:Among middle–older aged adults, adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet was inversely associated with hearing loss, including those at high hearing frequencies, among older adults. However, a detrimental association was observed at low hearing frequencies among men. Future investigations with a longitudinal design are needed to clarify the associations between diet quality and hearing loss.

The Inverted-U Relationship Between Dietary Inflammatory Potential and Hearing Loss Among Adults Aged 20 Years and Over in the United States: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…[30][31][32][33][34] Compared to single nutrient analysis, dietary patterns account for the combined effect of various foods and may have a stronger association with disease risk than for individual components. 35,36 Prior studies have examined the relationship between dietary patterns and HL, 13,37,38 however, these dietary patterns were not designed to explore the inflammatory potential of diets. Moreover, the results of previous studies for the relationship between inflammatory food consumption and hearing loss are inconsistent.…”

“…Although, they conjectured that there was a nonlinear association between the inflammatory potential of the diet and subjective hearing loss, they did not further explore the nonlinear association. Interestingly, Huang et al 38 also found that higher adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet, which is considered as an anti-inflammatory diet, was positively associated with low-frequency hearing loss among middle–older aged male adults in the USA. These results may imply inflammation plays a dual role in the risk of hearing loss.…”

ORP1L, ORP1S, and ORP2: Lipid Sensors and Transporters

“…Sensorineural hearing loss has been linked to cholesterol dysregulation including in hypercholesterolaemia and trafficking disorders such as Niemann-Pick type C disease (Malgrange et al., 2015). There is also some evidence that diet can affect severity of hearing loss (Rosen et al., 1970; Yamasoba et al., 2013; Yang et al., 2015; Huang et al., 2020). Reducing cholesterol levels through diet and drug interventions may therefore be beneficial for reducing severity of ORP2-mediated hearing loss in patients.…”

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

“…It is imperative that risk factor control is the foundation for limiting the number of people who develop hearing loss. Multiple risk factors, including metabolic syndrome components 3 and lifestyle habits of individuals, such as smoking 4 and dietary habits, 5 may give rise to hearing loss. Some researchers have demonstrated that cardiovascular disease (CVD) and risk factors for CVD are associated with hearing loss 6‐8 .…”