It is a study which may come as a shocker to your ears -- sudden loss of hearing can indicate the risk of a heart stroke later in life.

Researchers have based their findings on an analysis of five-year follow-up data on 1,423 patients in Taiwan, who were hospitalised for an acute episode of sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

The study showed they were more than one-and-a-half times more likely to suffer a stroke than a control group of 5,692 patients who had been hospitalised for an appendectomy, the Stroke journal reported.

According to lead researcher Herng-Ching Lin of Taipei Medical University School of Health Care Administration, 'To the best of our knowledge, no study has investigated the risk of cerebrovascular diseases developing following the onset of sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

'But because this is the first time any association has been suggested, and because there were many limitations in the data, the results need to be interpreted cautiously until additional independent studies are performed.

'Secondly, the database did not contain information regarding severity of hearing loss, extent of hearing recovery, tobacco use, body mass index and the medical history of cardiovascular disease and atrial fibrillation -- all of which can contribute to stroke risk.'