Doctors typically do not routinely screen middle-aged adults for hearing loss. The US Preventive Services Task Force, sponsored by the U.S. government’s Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, is in the midst of an evaluation of new evidence since 1996. That was when it issued its last recommendations, which are no longer available.

These findings suggest researchers should investigate whether it makes sense to do so, said Rabinowitz. And, importantly, whether maintaining your cardiovascular health helps protect your ears as you age, he added. “Taking care of your overall health may help your hearing.”

Nash agreed. “We need not think of (hearing impairment) as an inevitable part of aging, but should instead think of hearing impairment as a change in health status that we may be able to delay or prevent all together.”

SOURCE: Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, online February 21, 2011