Prevent Hearing Loss With Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Aging can be associated with reduced energy levels, loss of memory or cognitive decline, poor eyesight, and potentially hearing loss.

Presbycusis, or slow loss of hearing as you age, can be caused by damage to the tiny hairs in your ears (these tiny hairs pick up sound waves and change them into nerve signals so your brain processes them as sound).

This could lead to the slow, gradual loss of hearing associated with aging.

This is only one of the reasons for hearing loss as you get older.  Other factors can be linked to your genes, exposure to loud noises (rock concerts), smoking, and changes to the makeup of your inner ear.

A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, could show a link between omega-3 fatty acids and the potential to slow down age-related hearing loss.

Let me explain…

Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Hearing Loss

There are many modifiable risk factors that you can change to slow hearing loss.

Reducing your exposure to loud noises, exposure to smoke, and reducing your use of earphones to listen to loud music are all steps you can take to reduce your risk.

However, researchers wanted to see if omega-3 fatty acids and fish intake could be associated with improvements in hearing loss.

They recruited 2,956 participants, aged 50 and older who were included in the Blue Mountain Hearing Study.

They were given a food questionnaire regarding fish and omega-3 fatty acid intake.

They also were measured for hearing loss, which the researchers defined as pure tone average of frequencies of .05, 1.0, 2.0, and 4.0 kHz >25 decibels of hearing loss.

From their research, they determined there was an inverse relationship between total PUFA and prevalent hearing loss.

Also, they noticed an inverse relationship between long chain PUFA (omega-3 fatty acids) and incident hearing loss.

In simple terms, higher total intake of omega-3 fatty acids resulted in a lower risk for hearing loss, and vice versa.

They noted that participants with ≥2 servings of fish per week compared to <1 serving of fish significantly (42%) reduced their risk for presbycusis.

For this study, one serving of fish was equivilant to 5 ounces.

Also, the researchers stated that ≥1 to <2 servings of fish per week reduced the risk for progression of hearing loss with aging.

Through their research, they concluded that increased fish and omega-3 fatty acid intake is inversely associated with hearing loss, and that increased fish and omega-3 fatty acid intake was associated with a reduced risk for developing presbycusis.

Although this research is very encouraging, there are other factors that need to be considered when dealing with age-related hearing loss.  However, even with these other factors, this research could show promise for a new way to deal with age-related hearing loss.

Powerful Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to be an important staple in your diet.

They could improve heart health, improve eye health, and now have been shown to improve hearing loss.

According to this study, there is a positive association between omega-3 fatty acids and fish intake, and your risk for age-related hearing loss (presbycusis).

Factors that can be changed, for instance, controlling volume levels of music, smoking, and now dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acid and fish could significantly reduce your risk for developing hearing loss.


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References:

Gopinath, B.  Flood, V.  Rochtchina, E.  McMahon, C.  Mitchell, P.  Consumption of omega-3 fatty acids and fish and risk of age-related hearing loss.  Am J Clin Nutr.  2010. Vol.92(2):pp. 416-421. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.2010.29370.