HEARING AND DIET

From physique and brain power to overall staying prowess, we know what we eat is a linchpin to our health.   You are what you eat.

What most people don’t realize is that our diet has also a say in our hearing.

What You Eat

As reported by the American Academy of Audiology (1), a University of Florida Gainesville research by C. Spankovich and C. G. Le Prell found “a significant relationship between dietary nutrient intake and susceptibility to acquired hearing loss is emerging.” 

A review of literature by Spankovich and Le Prell indicates (2):

• ·        Vitamin A increased dietary intake were associated with decreased prevalence of hearing impairment in older individuals
• ·        Vitamin B Folic Acid slowed progression of age-related hearing loss at low frequencies
• ·        There is a positive relationship between Vitamin C intake and hearing sensitivity
• ·        Increased intake of vitamin E has been linked to better hearing in a cross-sectional analysis
• ·        Cross-sectional data suggests a positive relationship between Magnesium intake and hearing sensitivity.

It must be pointed out that there are other studies which failed to detect a statistically significant relationship for the above findings.  In addition, other analyses suggest beneficial effects are higher for adults 60 years and older.

Diametrically opposite to vitamins and minerals, higher carbohydrate intake, fat intake, and cholesterol intake are correlated with negative hearing outcomes.  A number of studies concluded “there is an increased risk for hearing loss in adults with higher glycemic index (an index of carbohydrate quality) and glycemic load (an index of both quality and quantity), as well as higher total carbohydrate intake.”

Participants in the Spankovich and Le Prell cross-sectional analyses (2), whose diets were aligned with US Dietary Guidelines for Americans, had better hearing at higher frequencies (3, 4, 6, and 8 kHz) – see  2015-2020 Dietary Guidelinesfor Americans.  This site with the moniker My Plate has food and beverage selection tips that reflect one’s personal preferences, values, traditions, culture, and budget. Parameters incorporated are age, gender, height and current weight.   

The info in My Plate is nothing new except an emphasis on variation of proteins and vegetables.  Don’t stick to a few. Eating salmon and blueberries most of the time is dicey.  Each food or beverage item has something to contribute.

Spankovich and Le Prell concluded “healthy eating strategies may benefit patients with respect to preserved higher frequency thresholds, although the correlations presented in the study do not establish causal relationships.”

The earlier you start on eating healthy the better – at the benefits accrue over time with significant effects realized after a considerable period of consistency in dietary consumption.  This means better hearing inspite of aging.

How Much You Eat

But it is not just what we eat that counts; it is also how much we ingest (3).

Several investigations show with age; our bodies produce more free radicals leading to aging.   Free radicals are suspected to play a role in age-associated decline of our delicate hearing mechanism. Most adults register some degree of hearing loss after 60 years or more.

A study conducted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison associated the amount of food we eat and our lifespan. Researchers found an enzyme called Sirt3 produced by the body has a strong mechanistic link mitigating the aging effect of free radicals.  If we eat less than our “normal” daily volume of calories, the body increases its levels of Sirt3 that combat free radical damage.

Eating less mean most likely more Sirt3 enzymes, slowing aging.  

Consequently, eating less might mean you’ll hear better - longer.

Why You Eat

Ultimately what matters is why we eat.   

Do we eat to survive?   

To enjoy the “small” pleasures of life?   

Or to be healthy?   

If health matters most - including being able to hear as we grow older - we will look at what is on our plate with more planning from the mind, rather than our taste buds.

Which leads us to another question - does the sense of hearing affect our taste?  Stay tuned!

Advisory

Check with your physician and nutritionist before adding any supplements or customizing your diet.

If you think you may have hearing loss, have a full hearing evaluation from a hearing healthcare professional.

HEARING AND MEMORY

Do you remember what the pastor said last week?  It might be easier for you to recall what he wore and how his handshake felt.   If you think your memory is foggy, or mistakenly blaming it on daydreaming, don’t.  A University of Iowa study found that auditory memory is inferior to visual and tactile memory: that is we what we see, what we touch, will register far longer in our brain than what we hear.  Other studies indicate recalling smell also trumps calling to mind sounds.

The U of I findings, published recently in the journal PLOS One (see www.plosone.org and search phrase “Achilles’ Ear?”), give credence to folk wisdom as in the old Chinese proverb “I hear, and I forget… I see, and I remember.”  Lead author James Bigelow was quoted, "We tend to think that the parts of our brain wired for memory are integrated. But our findings indicate our brain may use separate pathways to process information.”

Canadian audiologist Ning Hu of Surrey Hearing Care said, “It could be because auditory information is received sequentially one at a time, for example speech sounds, before it can be processed and understood as a whole by the brain, while visual information can be scanned over and over by the eye. Our short-term memory has a certain capacity to store auditory information for retrieval and recall within a short period of time before new auditory information comes in for processing. This cognitive overloading of information perhaps renders fewer mental resources available to commit auditory information to memory.”

Sounds that register more in one’s brain are those according to Ms. Hu which are “familiar as opposed to novel sounds, for example voices of family and friends versus strangers, ones own name being called, and sounds that are linked to some form of strong emotions like a favorite song or nails on chalkboard.”

Remember the song that you just heard, and now you find yourself singing the tune again and again – that is called a brain itch, or cognitive itch, or earworm.  Yes an earworm (talking of stimuli).   This often happens due to catchy repetitive lyrics.   The only way to scratch the itch off is to keep crooning the melody.  Women are more susceptible to brain itch.

What are the implications?

For Advertisers: Radio advertising which is pure auditory will work best the more frequent the commercial is aired. Don’t expect a week to do the trick. 
Print Advertising will strongly compliment other media because it "is there always" - not fleeting like radio or TV or online.  Seeing an Ad on print has stronger brain imprint = see
Paper Beats Digital In Many Ways, According To Neuroscience

For Speakers and Lecturers:  Use multimedia, role play, more mnemonic aids, or hands-on tasks to extend the life of the word/s in the brain, in other words multi-stimuli.

For Parents talking to Teens: Say their names first.

For You: Jot it down, the longer the downtime from the moment you heard the sound or words (e.g. in a classroom or church) the higher the chance you will require more effort to recollect.  Do not rely on your memory.  Other sounds will ultimately kicked out of your brain a good portion of what you heard unless there is repetition or emotional value or a looming due date.

So next time somebody tells you, “I just told you! You’re not listening.”  Perhaps.  Or at that moment your auricular memory space is full and you just don’t have room for more. Your response, "Sorry, no space."

Can you blame age for fuzzy memory?  “I am having a senior moment.”  Now that can be partly due to hearing loss which is another topic.

A Joey

What a great shake!  My creation so I will call it a Joey.

Whatever was there that needs to be consumed soon, or else they will spoil, was dropped in a blender.   

To your taste:  rice crispies, cooled boiled burrito banana, peanut butter no added salt or sugar, half & half cream, frozen mango chucks (Philippine variety – the best in the world) and cream of coconut (the sweetened version – there is coconut cream, reverse wording, but this tells you no sugar added).    

You can add water but I didn’t.  Both creams took care of the liquid part.

Just the right thickness and creaminess  I wonder what a very light sprinkle of salt or cinnamon or nutmeg would do?

Tell me your variations.

RAW HONEY – AN ELIXIR?

 

You can buy these at Whole Foods

HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A FAT ILOCANO?

Three of the top causes of mortality among Filipinos are (according to the Philippine’s Department of Health 2007 report): heart diseases (no. 1), vascular system diseases that affect the circulatory system (no. 2), and diabetes (no.9). Possible contributing factors to all three can be an unbalanced diet and lack of exercise.

Taking Care of the Family Jewels

When it comes to physical challenges, the male mantra is “No pain, no gain.” When it comes to health care, our action is often reactive rather than preventive. Our masculinity is defined by many factors but from a biological point of view – our genitalia plays a major defining role. We take care of our hair, our eyes and our skin but do we need to pay attention to our family jewel, as my father would say, other than the usual shower? We consulted several reports and the American Urology Association regarding questions we males want to know but are often too embarrassed to ask.