Minerva
High frequency hearing . . . and other stories
BMJ 2018; 361 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k1649 (Published 18 April 2018) Cite this as: BMJ 2018;361:k1649
Presbyacusis
Hearing, especially of high frequencies, tends to deteriorate with increasing age—but not as much as it did in previous generations. That’s the finding of a comparison of four cohorts of people born in 1901-02, 1906-07, 1922, and 1944 in Sweden (Age Ageing doi:10.1093/ageing/afy002). Tested at age 70, pure tone thresholds were lower and hearing loss was less prevalent in the more recent cohorts. Hearing in men improved more than hearing in women, which the investigators think points to decreasing occupational noise exposure as part of the explanation.
Atrial septal defects
Along with persistent ductus arteriosus, atrial septal defect is among the more benign congenital heart defects. Even so, the results …