Vitamin D Benefits Hearing
Don’t let vitamin deficiency fall on deaf ears.
It’s loud and clear: Achieving an adequate status of vitamin D benefits hearing by playing a key role in preventing hearing loss as we age, according to investigators from the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York.
Using data from 1,123 participants ages 70 or over, the team found that individuals with lower levels of total 25-hydroxyvitamin D (the major form of circulating vitamin D in the body and a good indicator of the status of the nutrient) were more likely to suffer from some form of hearing loss than those with higher vitamin D levels.
Calcium status was not associated with hearing aptitude. Perhaps the way vitamin D benefits bone mineral density makes it important in maintaining the mechanical sense of hearing through the decades.
Matthew Kadey, MS, RD
Matthew Kadey, MS, RD, is a James Beard Award–winning food journalist, dietitian and author of the cookbook Rocket Fuel: Power-Packed Food for Sport + Adventure (VeloPress 2016). He has written for dozens of magazines, including Runner’s World, Men’s Health, Shape, Men’s Fitness and Muscle and Fitness.
