The underlying basis of noise-related hearing loss may seem well-understood. After all, the name itself suggests a fairly straightforward cause-and-effect relationship. Our basic understanding is that irreversible hearing damage is a result of exposure to overly loud sound over a long period of time.
Though we’ve known this for some time now, we haven’t completely understood the inherent mechanisms behind it. That’s improving, thanks to emerging research into the role of zinc regulation after exposure to loud sounds. Hearing loss and zinc management have a significant link according to this research.
How is hearing impairment impacted by zinc?
Zinc is a mineral needed for executing necessary bodily functions and most people have an abundance of it. Zinc helps your brain interpret chemical signals and is connected to immune system functions. In most cases, a person’s diet supplies plenty of zinc.
The connection between zinc and hearing loss might, at first glance, be difficult to recognize. The relationship between zinc and hearing isn’t, after all, instantly apparent. However, a novel experiment has shed some light on what’s going on.
Researchers engaged in some analysis on mice that were exposed to loud sound. In mice, as with humans, the fragile mechanisms of the ear become damaged when exposed to loud noise. In humans, this might first be encountered as a temporary muffling of sound. This will become more serious and more permanent as chronic noise exposure continues. This damage can’t be cured in either humans or mice.
Researchers also took blood samples from the mice and observed some fascinating results in terms of free-floating zinc.
Does zinc help or cause hearing loss?
Scientists now have a better understanding of how the symptoms of noise-related hearing loss occur because of this research. Usually, zinc in the body is molecularly bound. Researchers discovered zinc in free-floating form when the experiment’s mice were exposed to loud noise. It’s likely the same thing happens in humans.
The free-floating zinc causes damage to fragile portions of the inner ear that are essential in order to hear clearly. Scientists are now thinking that this is one of the mechanisms that causes hearing damage due to noise exposure.
How to manage hearing loss
In the future, this sort of understanding could help scientists prevent noise-related hearing loss from ever happening, even in those people who are frequently subjected to loud noises. However, it might be some time before those developments become a viable reality. But that doesn’t mean your ears are defenseless.
So, you may be asking: how can I prevent noise-related hearing loss?
There are several strategies you may use to safeguard your ears:
- Routinely check in with your hearing specialist: Discovering damage as early as possible can help decrease long-term damage, and coming in to see us for a regular hearing test is the best way to do that.
- Wear hearing protection: If there are loud environments you want to be in, or merely can’t avoid, ear plugs and ear muffs can help lessen the damage. If you go to that concert, for example, wear a pair of ear plugs to ensure you can still hear, but that your ears don’t become permanently damaged as a consequence.
- Limit your exposure to loud noises: Sporting events, concerts, and jet engines fall into this category. But there are some more commonplace noises that can cause hearing loss that might be surprising, and that includes things like a leaf blower, traffic, or individuals talking loudly in a busy office.
Protect your ears by understanding causes
Can you cure noise-related hearing loss? Regrettably not. Though you can successfully manage this type of hearing loss and any associated tinnitus, it can’t be cured. Better understanding the causes of hearing loss and the mechanisms by which hearing loss works can help hearing specialists (and you) develop better strategies and treatments tailored to keep your hearing safe.
This research is most likely just the first step in a longer undertaking. But we appear to be getting closer to understanding. Your direct role is to get your hearing checked and use ear protection.
