Higher risk of hearing loss in women with osteoporosis
A longitudinal study of nearly 144,000 women in the U.S., with up to 34 years of follow-up, found that osteoporosis or low bone density was independently associated with up to a 30% higher risk of incident moderate or worse hearing loss.
Osteoporosis is a disease which causes low bone mineral density. This means that the bones become fragile and porous which increases the risk of fractures.
Study data
In the study, a total of 60,821 women from the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) and 83,078 women from the Nurses’ Health Study II (NHS II) were included in the analysis.
The NHS participants were followed for up to 34 years, from 1982 to 2016, while NHS II participants were followed for up to 22 years, from 1995 to 2017. The risk of moderate or worse hearing loss was higher among women with osteoporosis or low bone density in both groups, according to the study.
In the study, participants completed questionnaires at baseline and every two years after regarding numerous health outcomes, medications, diet and lifestyle factors.
Sudden hearing loss
Other earlier studies from Taiwan and South Korea have found that osteoporosis can cause a sudden hearing loss.