It might seem as if the causes of noise-related hearing loss are functionally well-recognized. After all, the name itself suggests a fairly direct cause-and-effect relationship. Our fundamental understanding is that permanent hearing damage is a result of exposure to overly loud noise over a long period of time.
Though we’ve recognized this for some time now, we haven’t entirely understood the inherent mechanisms behind it. That’s changing, thanks to emerging research into the role of zinc regulation after exposure to loud sounds. Hearing loss and zinc regulation have an important link according to this research.
How is hearing impairment impacted by zinc?
Zinc is a mineral required for carrying out necessary bodily functions and most individuals have plenty of it. Zinc helps your brain interpret chemical signals and is connected to immune system functions. With a few exceptions, most individuals get enough zinc from their food every day.
The link between zinc and hearing loss may, at first glance, be difficult to recognize. The relationship between zinc and hearing isn’t, after all, immediately obvious. However, a novel experiment has shed some light on what’s happening.
Researchers exposed mice to loud noises and conducted a few analyses afterward. When exposed to loud noises, the same thing happens to mice as happens to humans: the delicate parts of the ear become damaged. For humans, sound will initially become impermanently muffled. This will become more acute and more permanent as persistent noise exposure continues. This damage can’t be cured in either humans or mice.
After taking some blood samples from the mice, some fascinating results in terms of free-floating zinc were discovered.
Does zinc help or cause hearing loss?
Scientists now have a better picture of how the symptoms of noise-induced hearing loss occur because of this research. Usually, zinc in the body is molecularly bound. Researchers detected zinc in free-floating form after the experiment’s mice were subjected to loud noise. It’s likely the same thing happens in humans.
The free-floating zinc triggers damage to fragile portions of the inner ear that are crucial in order to hear clearly. This is the mechanism that scientists now think leads to the type of damage that causes noise-related hearing loss.
Treating hearing loss
As scientists gain a better understanding of this, they may be able to formulate novel ways to prevent hearing loss in individuals who are regularly subjected to loud noise. Regrettably, these developments are likely still some ways off. But there are still other ways to protect your ears.
So, how can you protect yourself from noise-induced hearing loss?
There are a number of approaches you can utilize to safeguard your ears:
- Routinely check in with your hearing specialist: Undergoing a hearing test (and routinely checking in with us) can help identify damage early.
- Use hearing protection: Ear muffs and ear plugs can help your ears manage loud settings that you can’t, or don’t want to stay away from. If you go to 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 consequence.
- Regulate your exposure to loud sounds: 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, including things like a leaf blower, traffic, or people speaking loudly in a bustling office.
Protect your ears by understanding causes
Can noise-induced hearing loss be reversed? Sadly no. This kind of hearing loss and tinnitus cannot be cured, though it can be managed quite effectively. Strategies developed to keep your hearing safe will be more effective the better you understand the mechanisms behind hearing loss.
Although this research is promising, we still have a ways to go. But every bit helps. Your direct role is to get your hearing evaluated and use ear protection.