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Hearing Loss Triples Risk of Falling: Study
Posted 27 Feb 2012 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Feb. 27 – Hearing loss is associated with an increased risk of falling, according to a new study. Johns Hopkins researchers analyzed data from more than who took part in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2001 to 2004. The participants had their hearing tested and answered questions about whether they had a fall in the past year. The study found that people with a 25-decibel hearing loss (classified as mild) were nearly three times more likely to have a history of falling than those with no hearing loss. Every additional 10 decibels of hearing loss meant an increased 1.4-fold risk of falling. The findings held after the researchers accounted for other factors linked with falling, such as age, sex, race, heart disease and balance. People with impaired hearing don't have good awareness of their overall environment, which makes them more likely to trip ... Read more
Related support groups: Hearing Loss, Prevention of Falls
MP3 Players May Be Major Source of Hearing Loss
Posted 30 Dec 2011 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Dec. 30 – A new study suggests that about 90 percent of New York City residents may be at risk of hearing loss due to noise exposure, with MP3 players appearing to be a major culprit. The research has major limitations: It doesn't directly measure what Big Apple residents hear during their daily lives or physically track their activities. Even so, the study's lead author said the findings are a sign that risks to hearing lurk in the urban environment. "We need to step up our efforts to encourage people to protect their hearing," said Richard Neitzel, an assistant professor of risk science at the University of Michigan. "Maybe we need to put a little more money into making transit quieter and do a better job educating people that listening to music, if it's loud enough, can hurt you." Previous research has tracked the loudness of the noise that people encounter from ... Read more
Related support groups: Hearing Loss
Hearing Loss Far More Common Than Expected
Posted 14 Nov 2011 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Nov. 14 – Hearing loss affects about one-fifth of Americans aged 12 and older, a far higher number than previously believed, researchers report. They examined data from people whose hearing was tested during National Health and Nutritional Examination Surveys (NHANES) from 2001 to 2008. Based on the World Health Organization's definition of hearing loss (unable to hear sounds of 25 decibels or less in the speech frequencies), the NHANES data showed that 12.7 percent (30 million people) of the U.S. population aged 12 and older had hearing loss in both ears and 20.3 percent (48 million people) had hearing loss in at least one ear. Previous estimates put the numbers at 21 million to 29 million. This new study also found that rates of hearing loss nearly doubled with every decade of age, and that women and blacks were significantly less likely to have hearing loss at any age. It's ... Read more
Related support groups: Hearing Loss
Health Tip: Protect Your Hearing
Posted 14 Nov 2011 by Drugs.com
-- Prolonged exposure to loud noise can cause permanent hearing loss. So if you're exposed to loud noise on the job or at home, the American Academy of Family Physicians suggests how you can protect your hearing: Wear disposable earplugs or special earmuffs when exposed to loud noise. Use rubber mats under noisy kitchen appliances. Install sound-absorbing draperies, carpeting and storm windows. Limit the volume on loud electronic devices. Don't use several noisy machines at once or use one loud noise to drown out another. Get an annual hearing test. Read more
Related support groups: Hearing Loss
Secondhand Smoke Linked to Hearing Loss in Teens
Posted 18 Jul 2011 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, July 18 – Exposure to secondhand smoke could affect hearing development in children and increase their risk of hearing loss during adolescence, a new study indicates. These findings may warrant screenings for hearing loss among children exposed to secondhand smoke, the researchers warned. Roughly 60 percent of children in the United States are exposed to secondhand smoke, reported the study's authors. These children are at greater risk for certain health problems, from respiratory infections to behavioral difficulties and otitis media (acute ear infection). Babies whose mothers smoked when pregnant are also at greater risk for low birthweight and other problems. "Secondhand smoke may also have the potential to have an impact on auditory development," something that has significant implications for U.S. public health, the researchers wrote. In the study, they questioned 1,533 ... Read more
Related support groups: Smoking, Hearing Loss
Many Pediatricians Aren't Testing Tots for Developmental Delays
Posted 27 Jun 2011 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, June 27 – Although there's been some improvement in the number of pediatricians checking toddlers for developmental delays, more than half still don't routinely do so, a new study finds. In 2002, just 23 percent of pediatricians reported always or almost always using one or more standardized developmental screening tools for infants and toddlers up to 35 months of age. By 2009, that number had risen to just under 48 percent, reported the study. Early detection of developmental issues such as autism or impaired hearing is key to initiating early and effective treatment, experts said. "There's more and more evidence that starting early intervention can make a big difference in developmental outcomes than if we wait," explained study co-author Dr. Nina Sand-Loud, an assistant professor of pediatrics and a developmental-behavioral pediatrician at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center ... Read more
Related support groups: Autism, Hearing Loss
Saliva Test Spots Virus That Can Cause Hearing Loss in Newborns
Posted 2 Jun 2011 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, June 2 – A new study finds that a saliva test in newborns can detect almost all cases of a virus that can cause birth defects and hearing loss. The test could allow doctors to get a head start on preventing or treating deafness in children infected with the virus, known as cytomegalovirus. The traditional "heel stick" blood test for newborns doesn't do a good job of detecting the infection, which is passed from mother to child and affects tens of thousands of babies each year, although most don't suffer any ill effects. The test misses 60 percent to 70 percent of cases. Cytomegalovirus is "the epidemic that nobody's ever heard of," said Dr. Mark Schleiss, director of the University of Minnesota Medical School's division of pediatric infectious diseases and immunology. "This virus causes more birth defects in babies than any other infectious disease in the United States ... Read more
Related support groups: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Infection, Hearing Loss
Hearing Loss Seems to Affect Fewer Blacks Than Whites
Posted 2 Mar 2011 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, March 2 – Hearing loss affects nearly two-thirds of older Americans, but blacks are much less likely than whites to have hearing problems, a new study shows. It involved an analysis of data on 717 people aged 70 and older who took part in the 2005-06 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. About 63 percent of them had hearing loss that ranged from mild to severe. Participants who were older or male were more likely to have hearing loss or more severe hearing loss than those who were younger or female. The study also found that 64 percent of whites had hearing loss, compared with 43 percent of blacks. After accounting for a number of factors such as age and previous noise exposure, the researchers concluded that blacks were two-thirds less likely than whites to have hearing loss. It's not clear why the risk was so much lower in blacks, but some research has ... Read more
Related support groups: Hearing Loss
Bone-Anchored Hearing Aids May Benefit Kids
Posted 21 Feb 2011 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Feb. 21 – Children with hearing loss in one or both ears benefit from bone-anchored hearing aids, according to a new study. The bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA), a small device attached to the bone behind the ear, was introduced more than 30 years ago and has become an established treatment option for adults and children. This study looked at 31 children who were at least 4 years old when they underwent a BAHA fitting and had used the device for one to four years. Sixteen of the children had hearing loss in both ears (bilateral) and 15 children had hearing loss in one ear (unilateral). In the bilateral hearing loss group, 13 children (81 percent) were using the BAHA for more than eight hours a day and 12 said it was worth the effort. In the unilateral hearing loss group, of the seven children who were using their BAHA for more than eight hours a day and six who were using it ... Read more
Related support groups: Hearing Loss
Hearing Loss Common Among Middle-Aged Adults: Study
Posted 21 Feb 2011 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Feb. 21 – An estimated 21 percent of Americans aged 48 to 59 struggle with some kind of hearing loss, and the number rises to 90 percent of adults 80 and older, a new study says. Yet much of that hearing loss may be preventable, the researchers pointed out. Factors that contribute to hearing loss include working in a noisy environment, having a parent who had hearing loss, and, possibly, heart disease. Hearing loss is associated with difficulty communicating, a poor quality of life, dementia and cognitive problems, the study authors noted. "Hearing loss may not be an inevitable part of aging, and our findings, which are in line with other studies, point to the possibility that if we live healthier lifestyles, lifestyles that can reduce our chance of cardiovascular disease for example, we may be able to prevent or delay hearing loss," said lead researcher Scott D. Nash, who's ... Read more
Related support groups: Hearing Loss
Study Suggests Hearing Loss-Dementia Link
Posted 14 Feb 2011 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Feb. 14 – Adults who experience hearing loss may face a higher risk of dementia and perhaps Alzheimer's disease than those who don't suffer hearing loss, new research suggests. And the greater the loss, the greater the risk, the study suggested. "This work suggests that there is a strong predictive association between hearing loss as an adult and the likelihood of developing cognitive decline with aging," said study lead author Dr. Luigi Ferrucci, chief of the U.S. National Institute on Aging's Longitudinal Studies Section, as well as director of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. Ferrucci and his colleagues report their findings in the February issue of the journal Archives of Neurology. The authors noted that by the middle of the century, about 100 million men and women worldwide (about one in 85) will be affected by dementia. The researchers' investigation into the ... Read more
Related support groups: Dementia, Hearing Loss
Hearing Loss Rising Among Teen Girls, Study Finds
Posted 28 Dec 2010 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Dec. 28 – Over the last two decades hearing loss due to "recreational" noise exposure such as blaring club music has risen among adolescent girls, and now approaches levels previously seen only among adolescent boys, a new study suggests. And teens as a whole are increasingly exposed to loud noises that could place their long-term auditory health in jeopardy, the researchers added. "In the '80s and early '90s young men experienced this kind of hearing damage in greater numbers, probably as a reflection . . . of what young men and young women have traditionally done for work and fun," noted study lead author Elisabeth Henderson, an M.D.-candidate in Harvard Medical School's School of Public Health in Boston. "[This] means that boys have generally been faced with a greater degree of risk in the form of occupational noise exposure, fire alarms, lawn mowers, that kind of thing," ... Read more
Related support groups: Hearing Loss
Hearing Loss in Elderly May Be Linked to Folate Deficiency
Posted 1 Dec 2010 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 1 – Low levels of folic acid (folate) may be associated with age-related hearing loss, says a new study. Hearing loss affects more than 28 million Americans aged 60 to 74. Despite that high prevalence, little is known about the biological basis of age-related hearing loss, researchers say. This study of 126 healthy Nigerian men and women over age 60 found that low serum levels of folic acid, a B vitamin, were significantly associated with hearing loss in high frequencies. The finding appears in the December issue of the journal Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery. "Based on our research, age-related hearing loss may be associated with poor micronutrient status. The role of folate in cellular metabolism, the nervous system, and vascular function are important for the auditory system," study author Akeem Olawale Lasisi said in a journal news release. The researchers ... Read more
Related support groups: Folic Acid, Hearing Loss, Folacin-800, FA-8
Quick Action Can Restore Hearing After Meningitis-Induced Deafness
Posted 18 Oct 2010 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Oct. 18 – Health-care providers should move quickly to try to restore hearing in children who become deaf after developing pneumococcal meningitis, a small new study finds. The number of cases of meningitis and related diseases have dropped sharply since a vaccine for meningitis – the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) – became available in 2001. "However, pneumococcal meningitis continues to occur, even in healthy children who receive the recommended PCV7 vaccination series in early childhood," Drs. Tina Tan and Nancy Young. from Children's Memorial Hospital and Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago, said in a news release from the journal in which the study was published. In children left deaf by the disease, the cochlea tends to harden into bone over time, making it difficult to install an electronic hearing device known as a ... Read more
Related support groups: Hearing Loss, Meningitis -- Pneumococcal
Mouse Study Sheds Light on Hearing Loss in Aging Humans
Posted 17 Oct 2010 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Oct. 15 – New insight into how different types of age-related hearing loss may occur could help lead to the development of drugs to preserve hearing, scientists say. The team at the University of Minnesota Medical School looked at how two closely related genes affect hearing in mice. Mutations in these genes are associated with deafness in humans, they noted. The study, published online Oct. 14 in PLoS Genetics, found that proteins produced by the genes play a key role in two important processes that are required to maintain hearing in mice. "These separate maintenance pathways are likely important for maintaining auditory function during aging and may contribute to future understanding of common forms of age-related hearing loss in humans," study author Ben Perrin said in a news release from the journal's publisher. Because animal studies frequently fail to produce beneficial ... Read more
Related support groups: Hearing Loss