The underlying foundation of noise-related hearing loss may seem well-founded. After all, the name itself suggests a fairly direct cause-and-effect relationship. The common understanding is simply that loud noises damage the hearing mechanisms in the ear, leading to long-term and irreversible hearing loss.
Though we’ve known this for some time now, we haven’t perfectly understood the inherent mechanisms behind it. That’s improving, thanks to new research into the role of zinc management after exposure to loud noises. Hearing loss and zinc regulation have a significant connection according to this research.
What is zinc? And how does it affect hearing loss?
Zinc is a mineral needed for executing necessary bodily functions and most people have an abundance of it. Healthy levels of zinc are linked to a well-functioning immune system and play a part in how well your brain translates chemical signals. In most cases, a person’s diet supplies plenty of zinc.
At first, it may be challenging to determine the relationship between hearing loss and zinc. The connection between zinc and hearing isn’t, after all, immediately apparent. A new experiment has started to reveal what’s going on, however.
Researchers exposed mice to loud sounds and carried out a few analyses afterward. When exposed to loud sounds, the same thing happens to mice as happens to humans: the sensitive parts of the ear become damaged. For humans, sound will initially become impermanently muffled. This will become more serious and more permanent as chronic noise exposure continues. This damage can’t be healed in either humans or mice.
After taking some blood samples from the mice, some intriguing results in terms of free-floating zinc were discovered.
Does zinc help or cause hearing loss?
Because of this result, scientists now have a better understanding of how noise-related hearing loss symptoms happen. Typically, zinc in the body is molecularly bound. 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 portions of the inner ear that are crucial in order to hear clearly. Scientists are now thinking that this is one of the mechanisms that causes hearing damage due to noise exposure.
Managing hearing loss
In the future, this kind of understanding could help scientists stop noise-related hearing loss from ever occurring, even in those individuals who are frequently subjected to loud noises. Regrettably, these developments are likely still some ways off. But that doesn’t mean your ears can’t be protected.
So, you might be wondering: how can I prevent noise-related hearing loss?
There are several approaches you can utilize to safeguard your ears:
- Consistently check in with your hearing specialist: Detecting damage as early as possible can help reduce long-term damage, and coming in to see us for a regular hearing test is the best way to do that.
- Limit your exposure to loud noises: Sporting events, concerts, and jet engines come under this category. But there are some more commonplace noises that can cause hearing loss that may be surprising, and that includes things like a leaf blower, traffic, or individuals talking loudly in a bustling office.
- Use ear protection: If there are noisy environments you want to be in, or merely can’t stay away from, ear plugs and ear muffs can help lessen the damage. If you go to that concert, for example, use a pair of ear plugs to ensure you can still hear, but that your ears don’t become irreversibly damaged as a result.
Safeguard your ears by understanding causes
Can noise-induced hearing loss be reversed? Unfortunately not. This type of hearing loss and tinnitus cannot be cured, though it can be managed quite successfully. Strategies developed to keep your hearing safe will be more effective the better you understand the mechanisms behind hearing loss.
Even though this research is promising, we still have a ways to go. But every bit helps. Your immediate role is to get your hearing examined and use hearing protection.