Lee Swanson Research Update

Folic Acid Slows Age-Related Hearing Decline

May 2007

Folic acid appears to play a role in preventing or slowing hearing loss in the elderly, according to a study conducted in the Netherlands. Scientists found that supplementing with folic acid, a vitamin found in typical B-complex and multivitamin supplements, can slow age-related hearing loss in seniors.

Researchers now believe that homocysteine levels in the body play a role in age-related hearing loss. Homocysteine is an amino acid breakdown product that is linked to diseases of the heart and blood vessels. Previous studies have shown that folic acid supplementation helps lower homocysteine levels.

While many American food products are fortified with folic acid, foods in the Netherlands are not. The new study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, took place in the Netherlands. The 728 men and women who participated in the study were 50 to 70 years old and had moderately high blood levels of homocysteine. They were assigned to receive either 800 mcg of folic acid per day or placebo for three years.

Although hearing loss was noted in both groups at the end of the study, the people using folic acid had less hearing loss compared with those taking placebo. This difference was more pronounced in people whose folic acid levels were lower at the beginning of the study. There was also a 26% drop in homocysteine levels in the folic acid-supplemented group.

Researchers concluded that "folic acid supplementation slowed the decline in hearing of the speech frequencies associated with aging in a population from a country without folic acid fortification of food."

Annals of Internal Medicine 146(1):1-9, 2007

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