For many people, the day does not start right without a mood-boosting sip of morning coffee.
And now, a new study has revealed that men who drink coffee may unknowingly reduce their risk of developing hearing loss.
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The researchers found that men who drank at least one cup of coffee a day were 15% less likely to have hearing loss.
The team suggests that coffee may have beneficial effects on hearing due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
No link was found between coffee and hearing function among the women, which the team said could be due to differences in physiology.
They said that the high levels of estrogen circulating in the blood, which women have more, protect against age-related hearing loss, so the effect of diet on hearing will be “less important.”
The benefit appears to be the same regardless of whether the coffee consumed is caffeinated or decaffeinated, filtered or unfiltered, according to a study of nearly 37,000 people in the United Kingdom.
The researchers said damage to mitochondria, the energy generators in our cells, could contribute to degenerative diseases, such as hearing loss. And antioxidants have a protective effect on mitochondria.
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Using data from the UK Biobank, a large population study, a team from the Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain, was able to monitor coffee intake for 36,923 middle-aged and elderly men and women.
Their hearing was checked at the start of the study and again, at two follow-ups, over a period of 11 years.
The team analyzed the results in a way that took into account the potential effects on hearing from other health and lifestyle factors such as whether they had smoked, were exposed to loud music, or a noisy workplace.
And they found that men who drank between one and four and a half cups of coffee a day were less likely to have hearing loss.
The researchers noted in the journal Clinical Nutrition: “We estimated that consuming coffee with one cup per day was associated with a 15% lower risk of hearing loss.”
But Dr. Marcus Machado-Fragua, who was part of the research team, warned that “coffee should not be consumed excessively in an attempt to prevent hearing loss, especially in those with health problems related to caffeine consumption.”
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No link has been found between coffee and hearing function among women, so the team said it may be due to differences in physiology.
The high levels of estrogen circulating in the body, which women possess more, protect against age-related hearing loss, so the effect of diet on hearing will be “less important,” they said.
For men, who have lower estrogen levels than women, the effect of beneficial nutrients like coffee may be more pronounced.
Previous studies have found that older adults with hearing loss have higher rates of falls, depression and dementia.
The Global Burden of Disease Study estimates that hearing impairment is the fifth leading cause of disability globally.
Source: Daily Mail
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