Obese adolescents are more likely than their normal-weight counterparts to have hearing loss, according to results of a new study published in The Laryngoscope,
Obese adolescents are more likely than their normal-weight counterparts to have hearing loss, according to results of a new study published in The Laryngoscope, a journal published by the American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society.
According to the study, obese teenagers had increased hearing loss across all frequencies and were almost twice as likely to have low-frequency hearing loss on one side. The study analyzed data from nearly 1,500 adolescents from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey—a large, nationally representative sample of adolescents between the ages of 12 and 19. It was conducted from 2005 to 2006 by the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The study found that obesity in adolescents is associated with sensorineural hearing loss across all frequencies (the frequency range that can be heard by humans); sensorineural hearing loss is caused by damage to the inner-ear hair cells. The highest rates were for low-frequency hearing loss—15.16 percent of obese adolescents compared with 7.89 percent of non-obese adolescents. People with low-frequency hearing loss cannot hear sounds in frequencies 2,000 Hz and below; they may still hear sounds in the higher frequencies (normal hearing range is from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz). Often they can still understand human speech well, but may have difficulty hearing in groups or in noisy places.
“This is the first paper to show that obesity is associated with hearing loss in adolescents,” said study first author Anil K. Lalwani, MD, professor and vice chair for research. Obesity and its associated morbidities have been identified as a risk factor for hearing loss in adults for some time.