It may seem as though the roots of noise-related hearing loss are functionally well-recognized. A fairly obvious cause-and-effect connection is indicated by the name, after all. The common understanding is simply that loud sounds damage the hearing mechanisms in the ear, resulting in long-term and irreversible hearing loss.
And while that’s relevant, the mechanisms behind that cause have not always been so well understood. But because of new research, we’re developing a greater understanding of noise-related hearing loss, and this includes the role of zinc intake after being exposed to loud sounds. This research suggests that there’s an important connection between zinc and hearing loss.
How is hearing loss impacted by zinc?
Zinc is a mineral required for carrying out necessary bodily functions and the majority of people have an abundance of it. Zinc helps your brain interpret chemical signals and is connected to immune system functions. In most instances, a person’s diet provides plenty of zinc.
The link between zinc and hearing loss may, at first sight, be difficult to recognize. After all, it’s not immediately obvious what role zinc plays in your hearing. A new experiment has begun to expose what’s going on, however.
Researchers performed some analysis on mice that were exposed to loud noise. When exposed to loud sounds, the same thing happens to mice as happens to humans: the sensitive parts of the ear are damaged. For humans, sound will initially become impermanently muffled. As a person is regularly exposed to loud noise, this damage will become more severe and lasting. In both mice and humans, the body is not capable of healing or repairing this damage.
After taking some blood samples from the mice, some fascinating results in terms of free-floating zinc were revealed.
Is hearing loss caused or helped by zinc?
Because of this research, scientists now better understand how noise-induced hearing loss symptoms happen. Typically, zinc in the body is molecularly bound. During the experiment, researchers noticed that zinc became free-floating after the ears were subjected to loud noises and sound-related stresses. It’s likely the same thing happens in humans.
This zinc de-regulation winds up causing cellular damage to the inner ear, particularly to the parts of the inner ear in control of clear hearing. This is the mechanism that scientists now believe leads to the kind of damage that causes noise-induced hearing loss.
How to treat hearing loss
Over time, this kind of understanding may help scientists prevent noise-induced hearing loss from ever occurring, even in those individuals who are often exposed to loud noises. However, it might be some time before those developments become a viable reality. But that doesn’t mean your ears can’t be protected.
So, how can you safeguard yourself from noise-related hearing loss?
There are a number of approaches you may employ to safeguard your ears:
- Wear ear protection: Ear muffs and ear plugs can help your ears cope with loud environments that you can’t, or don’t want to stay away from. A set of earplugs can, for example, allow you to attend that loud concert and still be able to hear the music but also provide some protection against permanent hearing loss.
- 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 routine 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 might be surprising, and that includes things like a leaf blower, traffic, or people talking loudly in a busy office.
Protect your ears by understanding causes
Can noise-induced hearing loss be reversed? Unfortunately not. Though you can effectively manage this form of hearing loss and any associated tinnitus, it can’t be cured. Strategies developed to keep your hearing safe will be more effective the better you understand the mechanisms behind hearing loss.
Although this research is encouraging, we still have a ways to go. But every bit helps. Your direct role is to get your hearing tested and use ear protection.