Association of Dietary Factors with Noise Induced Hearing Loss in Korean Population: A 3-Year National Cohort Study

Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a hearing impairment caused by various epidemiologic and clinical factors. Identifying the relationship between NIHL and nutrients could help reduce the prevalence of hearing loss. This study analyzed the relationship between NIHL and dietary factors using data of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination survey. The survey was taken by a total of 10,850 participants aged 20-65 years. Air conduction audiometry was measured at 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000Hz in both ears. Metabolic syndrome, noise exposure, drink, smoke, income, marital status, and nutritional intake were evaluated. The differences between non-HI and HI participants in noise-exposed group have shown statistically significant differences in age, sex, marital status, smoking status, alcohol consumption, fast glucose level, and triglyceride level (p<0.05). In a multiple regression analysis, the age factor showed a significant association with HI (OR: 0.604; 95% CI: 0.538-0.678). In multivariate analysis for dietary factors, Retinol (OR: 1.356; 95% CI: 1.068-1.722), Niacin (OR: 1.5; 95% CI: 1.022-2.201) and Carbohydrates (OR: 0.692; 95% CI: 0.486-0.985) showed a significant association with NIHL. When the dietary factors of the noise exposure group were analyzed, high intake of Niacin and Retinol and low intake of Carbohydrates appear to prevent hearing loss.