Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Feb;32(1):46-52.
doi: 10.1097/AUD.0b013e3181f46a2f.

Prospective study of alcohol use and hearing loss in men

Sharon G Curhan  1 , Roland Eavey, Josef Shargorodsky, Gary C Curhan
Affiliations

Prospective study of alcohol use and hearing loss in men

Sharon G Curhan et al. Ear Hear. 2011 Feb.

Abstract

Objective: Hearing loss is a common and disabling sensory disorder, yet prospective data on potentially modifiable risk factors are limited. Previous studies suggest that alcohol consumption may influence the development of hearing loss, yet results have been inconsistent. The purpose of this study was to prospectively examine the relation between alcohol use and hearing loss in men.

Design: We examined prospectively the independent association between alcohol intake and self-reported professionally diagnosed hearing loss in 26,809 men aged 40 to 74 yrs at baseline in 1986. Study participants completed detailed questionnaires at baseline and every 2 yrs thereafter. Incident cases of hearing loss were defined as those professionally diagnosed after 1986. Cox proportional hazards multivariate regression was used to adjust for potential confounding factors.

Results: During 386,081 person-years of follow-up, 3447 incident cases of hearing loss were reported. Overall, there was no association between level of alcohol intake and risk of hearing loss. Compared with those who did not consume alcohol, the multivariate-adjusted hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) were 1.00 (0.89 to 1.12) for those who consumed 5.0 to 9.9 g/day, 1.08 (0.96 to 1.21) for 10.0 to 14.9 g/day, and 0.98 (0.85 to 1.13) for 30.0 to 49.9 g/day. The results did not differ by age group or folate intake. Among those with lower intake of vitamin B12, however, higher consumption of alcohol, specifically liquor, was associated with an increased risk of hearing loss.

Conclusions: Our data suggest that low or moderate alcohol consumption does not influence the risk of hearing loss in older men. A possible relation between vitamin B12 intake, alcohol consumption, and hearing loss merits further investigation.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Agrawal Y, Platz EA, Niparko JK. Prevalence of hearing loss and differences by demographic characteristics among US adults: data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999–2004. Arch Intern Med. 2008;168:1522–30. - PubMed
    1. Baglietto L, English DR, Gertig DM, Hopper JL, Giles GG. Does dietary folate intake modify effect of alcohol consumption on breast cancer risk? Prospective cohort study. BMJ. 2005;331:807. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bainbridge KE, Hoffman HJ, Cowie CC. Diabetes and hearing impairment in the United States: audiometric evidence from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999 to 2004. Ann Intern Med. 2008;149:1–10. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Brant LJ, Gordon-Salant S, Pearson JD, Klein LL, Morrell CH, Metter EJ, Fozard JL. Risk factors related to age-associated hearing loss in the speech frequencies. J Am Acad Audiol. 1996;7:152–60. - PubMed
    1. Brown RD, Penny JE, Henley CM, Hodges KB, Kupetz SA, Glenn DW, Jobe JC. Ototoxic drugs and noise. Ciba Found Symp. 1981;85:151–71. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms