Trajectories of Hearing From Childhood to Adulthood.

This is an observational longitudinal study, so it shows associations, not proof that childhood ear disease causes adult hearing loss. At age 45, many participants had not yet developed age-related hearing loss, so the results may not apply to older adults. The effects were small and, the authors say, too small to detect on a clinical audiogram. Some childhood hearing data were excluded because of testing differences and equipment issues, and a participant with profound childhood hearing loss was excluded. The authors describe the analysis as exploratory and say the associations are not meant to substantiate definitive effects. Attrition analyses found differences for childhood IQ and psychopathology among deceased members, which could affect representativeness.

The supplied text does not state author conflicts of interest. The publication types indicate non-U.S. government and NIH extramural research support.

Do not read these results as evidence that treating childhood ear fluid will prevent adult hearing or listening problems. The study is observational, the reported effects were small, and the authors describe the findings as exploratory rather than definitive.