Commentary on “Occupational Noise, Smoking and a High Body Mass Index are Risk Factors for Age-Related Hearing Impairment and Moderate Alcohol Consumption is Protective: a European Population-Based Multicentre Study” by Fransen et al., J. Assoc. Res. Otolaryngol. DOI 10.1007/s10162-008-0123-1

Excerpt

The earliest observation of high-frequency sensorineural hearing loss with aging (presbycusis) was recorded over 100 years ago (Zwaardemaker 1899). The causes of such hearing loss may be diverse: as noted by Schuknecht (1955), there is “difficulty in distinguishing the normal changes of aging from alteration caused by injury or disease.” Hearing impairment is the most common sensory disorder reported in older individuals. In the U.S. population, the incidence rises from about 20% for ages 45–64 years, to 30% for ages 65–74 years, to about 50% for ages 75 years and older (Pleis and Lethbridge-Çejku 2006). An average increase in hearing thresholds of 1 dB per year in those aged 60 years and older has been reported (Lee et al. 2005). Although such slow decline may appear inconsequential, the decrease in sensitivity occurs on the logarithmic scale and thus substantially degrades communication abilities. Although recent efforts have focused on genetic sources of susceptibility to hearing loss (see below), a new multicenter study of Europeans in their 50s and 60s (Fransen et al. 2008) has begun to illuminate the influence of lifestyle choices on age-related hearing impairment. Remarkably, smoking and a high body mass index (BMI) both acted as risk factors, and moderate alcohol consumption had a modest protective effect. …