Adults who steadily increased their use of sleep medications over nearly 30 years were more likely to experience worse hearing later in life, according to new research presented at the SLEEP 2025 conference in Seattle.
Investigators analyzed data from 3,102 community-dwelling adults from the late 1980s through 2016 to 2017. Participants reported sleep medication use at each study visit and later underwent hearing tests to assess peripheral and central auditory function.
The investigators grouped participants into three categories based on their medication use: nonusers (n = 2,398), increasing users (n = 449), and continuous users (n = 255). The primary outcome was the better-ear four-frequency pure-tone average (PTA), a standard measure of hearing. Higher PTA scores indicated worse hearing.
Compared with nonusers, those who increased their use of sleep medications had PTA scores that were 1.61 decibels higher on average (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.38–2.84), a statistically significant difference. Sleep medications included barbiturates, benzodiazepine derivatives, certain antidepressants, and hypnotics.
The association was stronger among those without difficulty falling asleep, who had an average of 1.93 decibels worse hearing (95% CI = 0.53–3.34). Among participants who reported frequently waking up during the night, the difference was 2.35 decibels (95% CI = 0.41–4.29).
Speech-in-noise comprehension, assessed using the Quick Speech-in-Noise (QuickSIN) test, didn't differ significantly between the groups.
The analysis controlled for demographic, lifestyle, and cardiovascular factors. At baseline, participants had a mean age of 50.7 years, 59% were female, and 21% were Black. Medication use was based on self-reported data from the previous 4 weeks at each visit.
These findings suggested that increasing the use of sleep medications from midlife through older age may be associated with worse hearing later in life. Additional research is needed to determine whether the medications themselves contribute to hearing loss or whether the association reflects other underlying health factors.
Source: Sleep