Hearing loss in midlife: noise without protection linked to faster decline
☕ Includes a question for the family ↓
Hearing and healthPart of a story we are following · 2 articles · See every update
Hearing changes for most of us as the years go by. A large Australian study of hearing loss in midlife found that several everyday things, including loud noise without ear protection, were linked to faster decline. That gives you something concrete to act on, and a pair of earplugs is an easy first step.
Researchers tested the hearing of middle-aged adults and tested it again six years later. Hearing slipped in every age group. The people whose hearing slipped faster shared some habits and health conditions, and many of those are things you can influence.
How the study worked
The Busselton Healthy Ageing Study followed 3,596 adults in Western Australia who were 45 to 70 years old when they joined (2010 to 2015), with hearing tests and health checks at the start and again six years later, and it was published Oct. 15, 2026, in PLoS One. It is an observational study from one region, and the health links were adjusted only for age and sex, so they show patterns rather than proof of cause.
What they found
The average age at the start was 57.9 years, and 55% of participants were women. Over six years, the share of people with mild or greater hearing loss across the main speech range went from 14% to 26%. For high-pitched sounds, it went from 53% to 71%.
Hearing got worse in all age groups. The change was bigger in men and bigger for high-pitched sounds.
Then the researchers looked at who declined faster. After accounting for age and sex, these were linked to faster hearing decline:
- Older age and being male
- Higher body mass index
- Smoking
- Ringing in the ears (tinnitus)
- Chronic ear infection
- Noisy workplaces, especially with inconsistent or no hearing protection
- High blood pressure
- Prediabetes
What do these have in common?
Some items on the list, like age and sex, you can’t change. But look at the rest. Noise exposure, smoking, weight, blood pressure and blood sugar are things many people already work on for their heart and overall health.
The authors say their findings suggest hearing in midlife is shaped not only by age and sex, but also by metabolic and environmental health. They call for more research to sort out how metabolic health, noise and hearing fit together.
The noise finding is the simplest one to act on today. Workplaces that were noisy were linked to faster decline, and the link was especially clear when people used hearing protection inconsistently or not at all. Protection you actually use is within your control.
What you can do today
Put a pair of foam earplugs where you will actually find them: in your bag, your glove box or your tool kit. Foam earplugs are sold at most pharmacies and hardware stores for a few dollars. Keep them ready for concerts, lawn mowers, power tools or any loud workplace, and put them in before the noise starts.
Talk about it at home
Your ears have tiny hairs inside them that wiggle when sound comes in, a bit like grass bending in the wind. Scientists tested the hearing of thousands of grown-ups, and then tested it again six years later. They found that hearing changed for almost everyone, and that it changed a little faster for people who spent time around very loud noise.
Question for the table
Why do you think the scientists tested the same people twice instead of just once? What could they learn from the second test that the first one could not show them?
Keep exploring
Copies this article and its questions so you can paste them into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or the AI you use, and keep the conversation going.
Questions and answers
- How much did hearing loss increase over six years?
- Mild or greater hearing loss across the main speech range went from 14% to 26%. For high-pitched sounds it went from 53% to 71%.
- What was linked to faster hearing decline?
- Older age, male sex, higher body mass index, smoking, tinnitus, chronic ear infection, workplace noise without consistent protection, high blood pressure and prediabetes.
- Does this prove these factors cause hearing loss?
- No. It is an observational study, so it shows links, not cause and effect.
- Who was in the study?
- 3,596 adults in Western Australia, aged 45 to 70 at the start, tested twice, six years apart.
