Getting Deaf as You Age? Folic Acid Might Help

Another interesting study from the Netherlands. Age-related hearing loss is common. It’s a loss of function in the hearing’s sensory nerve cells, which some scientists think may be related to increased plasma homocysteine levels. Since folic acid supplements can lower plasma homocysteine by 25%, it made sense to try administration of folic acid in a clinical trial setting.

As reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine, over 700 men and women aged 50 to 70 were recruited from Dutch blood bank registries; they had raised serum homocysteine levels (over 13micromol/L). They were randomly assigned to take folic acid (800 micrograms) daily or a placebo, for 3 years. At the end of the study, the people taking the placebo had decreased ability to hear low-frequency sound, while those taking folate showed no such decrease. The ability to hear higher frequencies was the same in both folate-treated and placebo groups, however.

In the USA bread, cereal, and other foods are fortified with folic acid, by law. The intent is to limit birth defects. There is no such fortification program in the Netherlands . The homocysteine levels in the Dutch participants were about half those seen normally in US citizens. This study provides a strong argument for food fortification with folate in those countries that don’t have it, yet. But there’s really no need for US seniors to take folic acid to prevent hearing loss, based on these results.