Hearing loss has always been considered an inevitable part of ageing, but a new study indicates that a healthy lifestyle can be beneficial for conserving hearing into old age.

    The study, published in the Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology, found that smoking and being overweight were risk factors in the most common type of hearing loss. It also found that moderate alcohol intake – at least one glass a week – appears to have a protective effect.

    The study, conducted by a research team at the University of Antwerp, involved nine audiological centres in seven countries: 4,083 people aged 53-67 took part. Participants were asked about their exposure to potential environmental risk factors and their medical history. Their hearing was also tested. The data were analysed for associations between potential risk factors and hearing loss.

    In addition, the research confirms that exposure to excessive noise is the main avoidable cause of permanent hearing loss.

    一般認(rèn)為，人到老年，聽(tīng)力必然要下降。但一項(xiàng)新研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，健康的生活方式可能有益于老年人保持聽(tīng)力。

    《耳鼻喉科學(xué)研究協(xié)會(huì)期刊》(JARO)上發(fā)表的一項(xiàng)研究結(jié)果顯示，吸煙和肥胖是導(dǎo)致一種最常見(jiàn)耳聾疾病的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)因素。該研究還發(fā)現(xiàn)，適量飲酒——每周至少一杯——對(duì)聽(tīng)力似乎有保護(hù)作用。

    安特衛(wèi)普大學(xué)(University of Antwerp)的一個(gè)研究小組在7個(gè)國(guó)家的9個(gè)聽(tīng)力學(xué)中心進(jìn)行的這項(xiàng)研究，共有4083名年齡在53-67歲之間的老年人參與。研究人員向參與者詢問(wèn)了他們暴露在各種潛在環(huán)境風(fēng)險(xiǎn)因素的情況，以及他們的病史。研究人員還測(cè)試了他們的聽(tīng)力，然后根據(jù)數(shù)據(jù)，對(duì)潛在風(fēng)險(xiǎn)因素與聽(tīng)力下降的關(guān)系進(jìn)行分析。

    此外，該研究證實(shí)，在可能引起永久性失聰?shù)母黜?xiàng)因素中，暴露于過(guò)大的噪聲是主要可避免因素。