Bouthinah Ahmed Mohammed Alateeq¹, Aseel Alturki¹, Susan Amin^1,

Nearly 16 million Americans have been affected by hearing loss. There are a number of causes of hearing loss including a deficiency in the intake of a number of amino acids such as methionine, Arganine, Carnitine, Glutathione and Taurine. A lot of the studies that have been written for nutritional amounts of amino acids on a day to day basis have been written for the western world, However studies looking at Saudi adolescents especially between the ages of 18-21 are lacking. The study was designed to determine whether a dietary intake of certain amino acids linked to deafness was deficient in 18-21 year-old Saudi Arabian adolescents. The study objectives were to describe the food habits, especially in terms of amino acid consumption of 18-21-year-old adolescents, in Hail, KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) and determine if these dietary habits are related to hearing loss. Assessment if any of any amino acid deficiency as well as current knowledge of the beneficial effects of certain amino acids in hearing will also be assessed. Aims relating to food intake were assessed by a food questionnaire. The other aims were answered by further survey questions. Two thirds (61.3%) of the females consumed chocolate on a daily basis. This was also the highest food item consumed by the hard of hearing students. Chocolate being a rich source of arganine was beneficial to the students being important for the formation of functional gap junctions in the inner ear. In this study no amino acids were deficient in our population. However, further studies are required to look at the effect of redundant amino acids and their impact on deafness. The Dietary intake of the amino acids linked to deafness is adequate for the students in this study. The students felt the knowledge of amino acids in deafness would help their families in the long term.

amino acids, hearing loss, adolescents, deficiency