The impact of cardiovascular diseases on hearing deterioration: a 13-year follow-up study

Abstract

Objective. To study the impact of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) on hearing deterioration among ageing adults in a longitudinal setting. Furthermore, to describe the pure tone threshold changes at the 0.125-8 kHz frequency range over 13 years.Design. A population-based follow-up study.Study sample. A random sample of 850 adults, of whom 559 participated in the follow-up study. Otological examination, a structured interview and pure tone audiometry were conducted. Multivariate regression models were used to estimate the effect of CVD (participants had at least one cardiovascular condition) on hearing deterioration of the better ear hearing level (BEHL), defined as a change in the pure-tone average (PTA) of the frequencies 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 kHz and separately at the lower (0.125, 0.25 and 0.5 kHz) and higher (4, 6 and 8 kHz) frequencies.Results. In the multivariable adjusted analysis, the BEHL change at 13 years was 0.7 dB greater among participants with CVD (p=0.3). The mean BEHL change during the 13-year follow-up was 12.0 dB (95% CI 11.4-12.6) among all participants.Conclusions. No significant association between CVD and hearing threshold changes was found.

The association between cardiovascular health and peripheral and central auditory functions in adults: a protocol for a systematic review

“…[40] However, not all studies investigating CV health and auditory functions found evidence in favour of the existence of a link between the two. [41][42][43][44][45] . CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.…”

“…Some studies used ‘direct’ measures of CV health (eg, maximum amount of oxygen consumption during exercise, arterial stiffness)[34, 38] while others used ‘indirect’ measures, capturing the risk factors of CV disease (eg, self-reported history of smoking or hypertension). [43, 44] In addition, the ages and age range of the study participants were not consistent across studies (young vs older adults). [40, 42] Similarly, the hearing status of the participants and the range of included HL often varied (NH vs HL).…”

“…[40] However, not all studies investigating CV health and auditory functions found evidence in favour of the existence of a link between the two. [41][42][43][44][45] -6 -…”