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What you eat matters. Your diet affects your energy levels, your immune system, and your heart. The foods you eat can even play a role in your hearing health! Here’s how a heart-healthy diet supports better hearing.
Eating Healthy Reduces Risk of Hearing Loss
A recent study from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital looked at how diet can impact hearing health. The study used information from 3,135 women who participated in the Nurses’ Health Study II from 2012 to 2018. The study included information about diet and hearing health. The researchers tested each participant’s hearing at the beginning of the study and again after 3 years to see how their hearing changed over time.
The researchers found that the women who ate a healthy diet were up to 30% less likely to develop hearing loss compared to women with the least healthy diet! “The benefits of adherence to healthful dietary patterns have been associated with numerous positive health outcomes and eating a healthy diet may also help reduce the risk of hearing loss,” says lead author Sharon Curhan, MD.
What Is a Healthy Diet?
This study focused on three diets, the alternate Mediterranean diet (AMED), the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH), and the 2010 Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI-2010).
- The AMED diet focuses on fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, and legumes. Fish and olive oil are also eaten in this diet.
- The Dash diet also emphasizes eating fruits, vegetables, nuts, and fish. Lean meats and low-fat dairy are also part of many recipes. The Dash diet encourages people to stay away from excessive salt, sugar, and fat.
- The AHEI-2010 diet also relies on vegetables, fruits, and whole grains to make up the bulk of the diet, along with fish and lean meat. This diet also limits sugar and salt.
As you can see, these diets all have a lot in common. Each one emphasizes a different balance of nutrients, but all focus on the same key principles. You don’t have to follow one of these diets to eat healthy. What’s important is that you eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, eat whole grains, beans, and healthy proteins, and avoid processed foods and excessive sugar in foods and beverages.
How Does Diet Impact Your Hearing?
What you eat impacts your overall health and wellbeing. Diet can also impact your hearing, reducing your risk of hearing loss even as you age. So how does diet affect your hearing? Researchers think the link has to do with your heart. A heart-healthy diet supports better overall health. It lowers the risk of heart diseases, diabetes, and other conditions that can inflame the veins and arteries.
A healthy heart contributes to blood flow throughout the body, including blood flow to the ears. In fact, the inner ears are very susceptible to changes in blood flow and changes in oxygen levels. If you have high blood pressure or inflammation, blood flow to the ears can be restricted, depriving cells of the oxygen they need to stay healthy.
Vitamins and Minerals
A healthy diet also provides your body, and your ears, with important vitamins and minerals that promote overall health and hearing health. Vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants can strengthen the cells in your ear and reduce the risk of hearing loss. Some of the nutrients needed for optimal hearing include vitamin A, vitamin C, zinc, potassium, and magnesium.
Other Ways to Support Better Hearing
Of course, diet is not the only thing that affects hearing health. This is just one factor that can promote better hearing or lead to a higher risk of hearing loss.
There are many ways you can support better hearing, such as:
- Wearing hearing protection whenever you’re in places with excessively loud noise.
- Staying physically active to promote heart health and overall health.
- Stop smoking to improve circulation.
- Manage diabetes to prevent damage to the cells in the ear.
- Reduce stress to improve heart health and lower blood pressure
- Know your family history of hearing loss so you can watch for the early warning sign of hearing loss.
What to Do If You Have Hearing Loss
If you think you may have hearing loss, book a hearing test! We’ll help you find out more about your hearing health, and suggest the right treatment option that will fit your lifestyle and hearing needs.