Retinol and Zinc Impact Age-Related Hearing Loss
The researchers concluded, “Serum retinol and zinc levels were significantly lower among elderly with hearing loss involving the high frequencies. This is added evidence to extant literature on the possible role of antioxidants in the development of ARHL and suggests further study on the effect of antioxidants supplementation in the control of ARHL which is presently controversial and inconclusive.”————-Read on for entire summary.
According to a recently epublished study, lower levels of retinol and zinc are associated with age-related hearing loss involving the high frequencies. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders reports that nearly 25% of those aged 65 to 74 and 50% of those who are 75 and older have disabling hearing loss. Additionally, approximately 15% of Americans (26 million people) between the ages of 20 and 69 have high-frequency hearing loss due to exposure to noise at work or during leisure activities.
Researchers evaluated 126 elderly subjects with a mean age of 67 years for hearing thresholds and serum levels of retinol and zinc. The subjects also completed a clinical history and physical exam.
The mean pure tone average for air conduction was 29.3 decibels hearing levels (dBHL) and for bone conduction it was 36.5 dBHL. Among the subjects with hearing loss in the speech frequencies, the median serum level of retinol was 52 mcg/L and zinc was 83.3 mcg/L. Among the subjects with normal hearing thresholds, the median serum retinol was 50 mcg/L and zinc was 89.9 mcg/L. For high frequencies specifically, the median serum retinol was 70.3 mcg/L and zinc was 99.9 mcg/L among the subjects with normal hearing thresholds compared to retinol levels of 46.9 mcg/L and 83.2 mcg/L zinc among the subjects with hearing loss.
The researchers concluded, “Serum retinol and zinc levels were significantly lower among elderly with hearing loss involving the high frequencies. This is added evidence to the literature on the possible role of antioxidants in the development of ARHL and suggests further study on the effect of antioxidants supplementation in the control of ARHL which is presently controversial and inconclusive.”
Reference:
Lasisi TJ, et al. Aging Clin Exp Res. 2014 Nov 2.
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