Associations between Age-Related Hearing Loss and Dietary Assessment Using Data from Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) is a major and rapidly growing public health problem that causes disability, social isolation, and socioeconomic cost. Nutritional status is known to cause many aging-related problems, and recent studies have suggested that there are interaction effects between ARHL and dietary factors. We aimed to investigate the association between ARHL and dietary assessment using data from the fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which is a nationwide cross-sectional survey that included 5201 participants aged ≥50 years from 2010 to 2012. All participants had normal findings on otoscopic examination and symmetric hearing thresholds of <15 dB between both sides. Nutritional survey data included food consumption and nutrient intake using the 24 h recall method. Data were analyzed using multiple regression models with complex sampling adjusted for confounding factors, such as age, sex, educational level, and history of diabetes. Higher intake of seeds and nuts, fruits, seaweed, and vitamin A were positively associated with better hearing. Our findings suggest that dietary antioxidants or anti-inflammatory food may help reduce ARHL.