Neck artery disease was not linked to hearing decline
Among 2,878 adults, neck-artery thickness and plaque were not linked to hearing changes over 10 years after accounting for starting hearing.
Paper by Ye Ji Shim
Our read
Populations- Studied:
- Accepted, not yet published: cohort study of 2,878 adults attending health screening, 10 years
- What changed:
- Neck-artery thickness was not linked to hearing decline over 10 years
- The catch:
- People without repeat hearing tests were unrepresented
- In the record:
- The 219th paper on carotid intima-media thickness with results in people; 444 on record in all.
- Why it’s aging research:
- It bears on staying healthy in midlife and later life.
Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
The 2,878 adults in this retrospective observational cohort averaged 52.5 years of age; 71.9% were male. They underwent ultrasound scans of the carotid arteries in the neck and hearing tests at a health screening visit, then repeated the hearing tests 10 years later.
Researchers examined artery-wall thickness and plaque, fatty deposits in artery walls. They accounted for starting hearing and cardiovascular and metabolic factors. The average hearing threshold in the better-hearing ear rose from 13.98 to 19.74 decibels on a hearing-level scale; higher thresholds mean poorer hearing. Neither artery-wall thickness nor plaque was associated with hearing thresholds at follow-up after those adjustments. Analyses of each side, individual sound frequencies and the amount of plaque gave consistent findings.
Why it matters
Hearing loss with age raises questions about whether artery disease contributes to worsening hearing. Accounting for starting hearing helps distinguish existing hearing differences from later change.
Caveats
The retrospective analysis included health-screening attendees who returned for hearing testing 10 years later, leaving those without repeat testing unrepresented. Most participants were men.
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