Higher hearing threshold associated with increased mortality in men, suggests study

The patients received conventional clinical examinations as well as audiometric and stabilometric laboratory examinations. On the best hearing ear, a pure tone average of 0.5, 1, 2, and 3 kHz was determined. The Norwegian Cause of Death Registry provided the cause of death. This study was set out for a duration of 26.3 years and included a total of 1,036 patients, of whom 58.8% were women. A 10 dB rise in hearing threshold was linked to a 14% increase in mortality among males in Cox regression analysis for the overall mortality adjusted for age, prior medical history, and vestibular condition. But, no significant correlation was observed between hearing and death in women.

A 10 dB rise in hearing threshold was linked to a 57% increase in the hazard ratio in men, according to the same studies for acute cardiovascular mortality. However, there was no discernible influence of hearing on survival in women. The postural balance correction had no effect on the correlation between hearing loss and death. This study brings out the evidence to support that hearing is related to mortality in males, but not in women. It makes this clear that there is an increase in mortality overall as well as in deaths from ischemic stroke and acute myocardial infarction.

Reference:

Berge, J. E., Nilsen, G. A., Goplen, F. K., Kringeland, E., Nordahl, S. H. G., & Aarstad, H. J. (2024). Hearing, Balance, and Mortality: Sex‐Specific Patterns in a Longitudinal Study. In Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/ohn.903