Yale School of Medicine scientists have discovered why 50% of adults 75 and older develop hearing problems. The team identified 54 risk variants, including 12 novel ones, that could contribute to adult hearing loss. Researchers sampled nearly 750,000 adults.
They concluded the combined effect of polygenic risk and environmental factors caused age-related hearing loss.
- Polygenic traits are features controlled by multiple genes instead of just one.
- Examples include height, eye color, skin color, hair color, blood type, intelligence, and disease risk.
- The study also highlights how hormonal regulation may affect the differences between hearing problems in men and women.
The researchers showed that polygenic risk in hearing loss is shared across human populations. They also found that genes involved in brain development interact with sex, noise pollution, and tobacco smoking, impact hearing loss.
Untreated hearing loss impairs communication, reduces quality of life, and increases the risk of falls and dementia.
Zoom in
The graphic below displays the 22 statistically-significant causative relationships.
How to interpret the graphic:
Boxes
- Brown boxes: Hearing loss affects the trait in the box.
- Purple boxes: Trait in the box affects hearing loss.
Arrows
- Blue arrows: Hearing loss causes trait.
- Red arrows: Trait causes hearing loss.
The shade intensity of the arrows is proportional to the level of statistical significance.
Download an enlarged version of this graphic. →
Why it matters
- The study could change how older adults with hearing problems are assessed and treated.
- The study helps explain the vulnerability of some people to age-related hearing loss.
- The results may lead to drug innovations.
“Our results support that large-scale genetic studies are useful instruments to understand the biology and the epidemiology of hearing problems in adults.” —Renato Polimanti, Ph.D., associate professor of psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine and senior author of the study.
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