Let's say you're trying to find some solid information about a serious health problem that concerns you, high blood pressure, diabetes.

Yet everywhere you look, someone's trying to sell you something like vitamins, yoga mats, blenders, drugs?

Well, breathe a sigh relief because all we bring you are the facts. Welcome to the nutrition facts podcast. I'm your host

Dr Michael Greger. Did you know that more than 1.5 billion people worldwide

suffer from hearing loss, but in some cultures people retain their hearing

into old age. Here is our first story.

In the United States, age-related hearing loss affects about a quarter of those in their 60s, more than half

of those in their 70s, and 80% of those in their 80s.

More than 95% of the scenarios have been found to have severe hearing laws.

Because of impaired communication, this may lead to social isolation, loneliness, and depression,

and may even threaten one's life due to an associated increase in motor vehicle accidents.

What can we do to prevent age-related hearing loss?

It's said to be a natural part of the aging process,

but that's what we used to think about pathological conditions like high blood pressure. The vast majority of people eventually develop

hypertension just like the vast majority of people eventually lose their hearing, so it must just be an inevitable consequence of growing old, right?

But then it was discovered that there were rural populations living in Africa and Asia that ate and lived healthier that didn't experience an inexorable rise in blood pressure as they aged.

So it appeared hypertension was more a lifestyle choice than an aging effect

and the same may be true for hearing loss. The Mabond tribe living in the Sudanese

desert was found to retain their hearing into old age. Other studies on

isolated native populations found that exposure to modern civilization

appeared to undercut their hearing advantages. What is it about our

modern world that appears to be leading to a loss of hearing as we grow older?

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