The study used a species of mouse, the CBA, that gradually lost its ability to hear higher frequencies over time – like humans. While these mice were good for studying similar effects, they weren’t the best mice for breeding. To increase the yield, researcher Robert Frisina cross-bred them with a more virile sort of mouse, C57 Black 6 – known for their poor hearing.

The results were startling.

Researchers at the University of Rochester Hearing Center in New York were surprised when the hybrid offspring not only bred better than the CBA mice, but retained their hearing better as they got older.

Win-win.

Frisina and his New York hearing loss team had set out to study the effects of hearing loss in the ear, but instead hit on a potential neurological cause. Five percent of people over the age of 50 can hear the full range of frequencies – known colloquially as having a “golden ear.” This study essentially replicated this feat in the mice.

The hybrid mouse outperformed the CBA mice from birth, the researchers found (using essentially the same test as in humans). The difference was significant as the mice aged – good news for older sufferers of hearing loss.

There is still much research to be done, but these mice might be the “golden key” to unlock the connection between genetics and hearing loss.

Specifically, men eating foods higher in folate.

That’s the conclusion come to by American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) according to research presented at their annual San Diego expo. They found that men over 60 with diets high in folate intake were 20 percent less likely to suffer from hearing loss, the most common sensory disorder in the United States.

High folate foods include leafy vegetables, asparagus, dried beans and peas, sunflower seeds, baker’s yeast and fortified cereal products. These foods are all high in folic acid, otherwise known as B-9. Deficiencies in folic acid have been linked to heart disease, stroke, and cancer.

Hearing isn’t all about what goes into your ears. Sometimes, it’s about what goes into your mouth.