Folate Supplementation and Age-Related Hearing Loss

The editorial discussed the phenomenon of age-related hearing loss, which was primarily sensorineural and associated with the loss of hair cells and other cellular elements in the cochlea. It highlighted that while factors like noise, infection, head trauma, and ototoxic drugs contributed to hearing loss, most cases in the developed world were simply due to aging, with no specific patient history or objective findings explaining the impairment. The editorial also referenced studies exploring the potential effects of folic acid supplementation on hearing in older adults, suggesting a possible link between folate levels and hearing ability, although the details of these studies were not elaborated in the summary.