People With Metabolic Syndrome Hear Slightly Worse
Graded Preliminary — a one-time survey of 8,759 adults with a hearing test; since everything was measured at once, it cannot show which came first or what causes what.
- Design
- Cross-sectional study
- Participants
- 8,759
- Duration
- —
- Funding
- The authors state they had no funding.
Adults with metabolic syndrome needed slightly louder sounds to hear on a hearing test than adults without the syndrome.
Adults with metabolic syndrome tend to hear a little worse. The term describes a cluster of at least three of five metabolic risk signs, such as raised blood pressure or blood sugar. In people with the syndrome, the quietest sound they could hear was nearly 1.3 decibels louder. That held after accounting for other factors like age and noise exposure.
Researchers analysed a large US health survey of 8,759 adults who each took one hearing test. Among those with metabolic syndrome, 37 percent had hearing loss, compared with about 15 percent of those without it. The link was stronger in people aged 50 or older and in those who had ear infections. Of 13 fat-soluble antioxidants in the blood, only retinol, a form of vitamin A, showed up as a possible go-between. People with the syndrome had slightly more of it, and in the statistics this softened the link a little.
All data come from a single point in time. So the study cannot say whether metabolic syndrome harms hearing or whether vitamin A protects it. The causes of hearing loss were also not told apart.
Disclaimer: Research summaries are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your health routine.