It may seem as though the causes of noise-related hearing loss are functionally well-understood. A fairly clear-cut cause-and-effect connection is indicated by the name, after all. Our fundamental understanding is that permanent hearing damage is caused by exposure to overly loud noise over a long period of time.
And while that’s accurate, the mechanisms behind that cause haven’t always been so well established. That’s changing, thanks to new research into the role of zinc management after exposure to loud sounds. Hearing loss and zinc management have a significant link according to this research.
How is hearing loss impacted by zinc?
Zinc is a commonplace mineral. The majority of individuals have plenty of zinc in their bodies, performing specific and essential functions. Zinc helps your brain translate chemical signals and is linked to immune system functions. In most cases, a person’s diet supplies enough zinc.
The link between zinc and hearing loss might, at first sight, be difficult to identify. The connection between zinc and hearing isn’t, after all, immediately apparent. A new experiment has begun to expose what’s going on, however.
Researchers exposed mice to loud noises and performed a few analyses afterward. In mice, as with humans, the sensitive mechanisms of the ear become damaged when exposed to loud noise. For humans, sound will initially become impermanently muffled. As a person is regularly exposed to loud noise, this damage will become more extreme and lasting. In both mice and humans, the body is not able to heal or repair this damage.
After taking some blood samples from the mice, some intriguing results in terms of free-floating zinc were revealed.
Is hearing loss caused or helped by zinc?
Scientists now have a greater picture of how the symptoms of noise-related hearing loss happen because of these results. Normally, when zinc is in the body, it’s bound molecularly. Researchers discovered zinc in free-floating form after the experiment’s mice were exposed to loud noise. It’s likely the same thing happens in humans.
The free-floating zinc triggers damage to sensitive parts of the inner ear that are essential in order to hear clearly. This is the mechanism that scientists now believe results in the kind of damage that causes noise-induced hearing loss.
Managing hearing loss
As scientists gain a better understanding of this, they might be able to formulate novel ways to prevent hearing loss in people who are regularly exposed to loud noise. However, it might be some time before those advancements become a viable reality. But there are still other ways to safeguard your ears.
So, how can you safeguard yourself from noise-induced hearing loss?
Here are several steps you can take to safeguard your hearing:
- Use hearing protection: Ear muffs and ear plugs can help your ears manage noisy settings that you can’t, or don’t want to stay away from. If you attend that concert, for instance, wear a set of ear plugs to ensure you can still hear, but that your ears don’t become irreversibly damaged as a result.
- Regulate your exposure to loud noises: This clearly includes noises like jet engines, concerts, or sporting events. But there are some more commonplace noises that can cause hearing loss that may be surprising, including things like a leaf blower, traffic, or people talking loudly in a busy office.
- Routinely check in with your hearing specialist: Discovering damage as early as possible can help minimize long-term damage, and coming in to see us for a regular hearing test is the best way to do that.
Understand the causes, safeguard your ears
Can noise-related hearing loss be reversed? Sadly no. This type of hearing loss and tinnitus cannot be cured, though it can be managed very effectively. Better understanding the causes of hearing loss and the mechanisms by which hearing loss works can help hearing specialists (and you) formulate better strategies and treatments designed to keep your hearing safe.
This research is probably just the first step in a longer undertaking. But every bit helps. Your immediate role is to get your hearing tested and use hearing protection.