Advanced Knowledge Seminar

Hearing Impairment in Aging: A preventable, vascular disorder?

Karen J. Cruickshanks, Ph.D.
Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and
Population Health Sciences
School of Medicine and Public Health
University of Wisconsin
Madison, WI

Hearing impairment is one of the most common health conditions affecting older adults. Once considered a normal part of aging, there is growing evidence that it is at least partially preventable. The Epidemiology of Hearing Loss Study is a longitudinal, population-based study of hearing loss in Beaver Dam, WI. Hearing was measured by pure tone audiometry in 3753 participants in 1993-95 and at follow-up examinations in 1998-2000 and 2003-2005. Currently, this cohort is being re-examined for a 16-year follow-up study. During 2005-2008, the adult children of this cohort participated in the Beaver Dam Offspring Study, a study of sensory disorders and aging which included audiometric testing. In both studies, speech understanding also was measured using the Northwestern University #6 word lists. Data from these studies will be presented to summarize the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of traditional and novel cardiovascular risk factors with hearing impairment. These data suggest that vascular processes may play important roles in sensorineurological changes in aging auditory systems. On-going studies of inflammation and genetic factors will also be discussed. These on-going, large, epidemiological cohort studies are contributing important new insights into possible prevention approaches to reduce the burden of hearing impairment in older adults.


Date: Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Time: 4:00 p.m.
Location: IU Speech & Hearing Center, Room C141

This presentation is part of an Advanced Knowledge Seminar funded by the IU Institute for Advanced Study.