Association of cardiovascular risk status and hearing loss in older adults after thirty-nine years of follow-up: Chicago Healthy Aging Study (CHAS) preliminary findings

Purpose: To explore the contribution of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors on hearing outcomes. Background: A staggering 31 million Americans have hearing loss, a figure quickly growing as the population ages. Age-related hearing loss manifests bilaterally at high frequencies and may result in social isolation, anxiety, and depression. CVD risk factors contribute substantially to morbidity and mortality yet there are no data to clarify the long-term association between CVD risk status and hearing outcomes. In this pilot study, we explore the effects of low-risk (LR) and not LR status on hearing in older adults. Methods: Participants were classified as LR or not LR for CVD in young adulthood (25-55 years). Thirty-nine years later, a subset of 130 CHAS participants (18.7% black, 28.5% female) aged 65-84 years underwent advanced audiologic assessment including hearing thresholds (0.25-8.0 kHz) and distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE; 0.50-5.0 kHz) testing. Results: We hypothesized baseline LR status would result in better hearing outcomes. Conversely, pilot data revealed poorer hearing outcomes in participants classified as LR at baseline. For example, with adjustments for age, sex, and race, DPOAE levels were significantly higher (i.e., better) in not LR participants from 2.0-5.0 kHz (p < 0.05). This trend was consistent for thresholds at 4.0-8.0 kHz (p < 0.05). Implications: These pilot results underscore the need for a more comprehensive assessment of CVD risk status on hearing outcomes. To this end, future investigations will extend auditory measures to the highest testable frequency (20.0 kHz) where age-related changes are most pronounced.