Wang J, Liu M, Sung V, et al. - In this population-based cross-sectional study, researchers ascertained if differences in retinal vessel caliber (specifically wider venules and narrower arterioles) were correlated with hearing threshold and hearing loss in mid-childhood and midlife. In total, 1,281 children (mean age, 11.4 years; 49.1% boys) and 1,255 attending parents (mean age, 43.8 years; 86.6% women) were evaluated utilizing retinal microvasculature and air conduction audiometry data at a main assessment center in seven large cities in Australia. Adverse retinal microvascular features were associated with midlife hearing loss, with likely evolving venular connections by age 11 to 12 years. Microvascular health can lead to the pathogenesis of hearing loss over the course of life, thus supporting replication and mechanistic studies to inform causal inference and prevention efforts.