Seniors inability to hear conversations 1.5 more-likely if low vitamin D – May 2022

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Deficiency in Vitamin D is Associated with Bilateral Hearing Impairment and Bilateral Sensorineural Hearing Loss in Older Adults May 2022

Nutrition Research https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nutres.2022.05.008 PDF is behind a $31 paywall
Galya Bigman

Hearing impairment and vitamin D (VD) deficiency are both public health concerns. The purpose of the study was to examine whether VD deficiency and hearing impairment, specifically sensorineural hearing loss, are associated. Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES, 2001–2006, 2009-2012) were used in this cross-sectional study. The pure-tone average (PTA) was calculated for each ear at low speech frequencies of 0.5-4.0kHz (LPTA) and higher frequencies of 3.0-8.0kHz (HPTA). Hearing impairment was defined as >25dB (LPTA/HPTA) and was further divided to ‘unilateral’ and ‘bilateral’. A subsample of 2,010 participants with normal tympanometry and otoscopic examinations was analyzed to determine sensorineural hearing loss. Multivariable weighted multinomial regressions were used to estimate the adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).
Overall, 3,489 participants aged 50 years or older with mean age (Mean±SD) 61.5±9.1 years were included in the final study sample, of those, 924 (21.8%) had VD deficiency (<20ng/mL). Hearing impairment (bilateral and unilateral) was detected at 1,648 (40.5%) participants at LPTA and 2,589 (70.5%) participants at HPTA. In the multivariable models,

VD deficiency was significantly associated with

• bilateral hearing impairment at the LPTA (OR=1.45,95%CI:1.12-1.89) and with
• bilateral sensorineural hearing loss at the LPTA (OR=1.60,95%CI:1.13–2.26)

but such association was not observed at the HPTA (unilateral, p-value=0.274; bilateral, p-value=0.423).
In conclusion, VD may have a significant role in the human auditory system, where its deficiency might affect both ears in particular the inner ears where the sensorineural hearing loss occurs.

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Korean Seniors 1.6X more likely to have hearing loss if <20 ng of Vitamin D - July 2024

The Relationship Between Lower Vitamin D Levels and Hearing Loss in Older Adults
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7874/jao.2023.00458 July 9, 2024.
Yun Ji Lee1 , Jun Ho Jung2 , Jong Woo Chung1
1 Dept of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Asan Medical Center, U. of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
2 University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
Correspondence Jong Woo Chung ,Tel: +82-2-3010-3718, Fax: +82-2-489-2773, Email: jwchung at amc.seoul.kr

Background and Objectives
Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) is a sensorineural disease that is associated with a number of factors. In addition to age, sex, environment, lifestyle, and comorbidities are all known to be related to ARHL as well. The prevalence of ARHL can be reduced by controlling the adjustable factors that cause it. Vitamin D levels are strongly related to calcium metabolism, which can affect ARHL. This study aimed to investigate the association between vitamin D and ARHL.

Subjects and Methods
A total of 1,104 subjects aged >65 years were enrolled from the fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which was conducted from 2010-2012. Every participant received both an audiological assessment and a nutritional survey. The association between ARHL and serum vitamin D concentration was analyzed using logistic regression analyses with complex sampling adjusted for confounding factors such as alcohol consumption, smoking status, mobility, and bone mineral density.
Results
Our multivariable analysis revealed that males in the group with lower serum levels of vitamin D (< 20 ng/mL) had a higher prevalence of ARHL (odds ratio, 1.638, 95% confidence interval, 1.058-2.538, p=0.027).
Conclusions
This finding suggests that lower serum levels of vitamin D are associated with ARHL in the older male population.

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VitaminDWiki – Ear category has 17 items

which includes

• Hearing loss in seniors 2X more likely if low vitamin D – Nov 2020
• Hearing Loss appears to be prevented and treated with vitamin D