The underlying foundation of noise-induced hearing loss may seem well-understood. A fairly obvious cause-and-effect relationship 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 have not always been so well understood. But because of recent research, we’re developing a greater understanding of noise-induced hearing loss, and this includes the role of zinc intake after being exposed to loud noises. This research reveals that there’s an important connection between zinc and hearing loss.
How is hearing impairment impacted by zinc?
Zinc is a mineral needed for carrying out necessary bodily functions and the majority of individuals have plenty of it. Zinc helps your brain translate chemical signals and is connected to immune system functions. In most cases, a person’s diet provides plenty of zinc.
At first, it may be challenging to determine the connection between hearing loss and zinc. After all, it’s not instantly clear what role zinc plays in your hearing. However, a unique experiment has shed some light on what’s happening.
Researchers exposed mice to loud noises and carried out a few analyses afterward. In mice, as with humans, the sensitive mechanisms of the ear become damaged when exposed to loud sound. For humans, sound will initially become impermanently muffled. As a person is regularly exposed to loud noise, this damage will become more serious and lasting. In both mice and humans, the body is not able to heal or repair this damage.
Researchers also took blood samples from the mice and noticed some interesting results in terms of free-floating zinc.
Is hearing loss caused or helped by zinc?
Scientists now have a greater picture of how the symptoms of noise-induced hearing loss happen because of these results. Typically, zinc in the body is molecularly bound. Researchers detected zinc in free-floating form when the experiment’s mice were subjected to loud noise. Zinc most likely responds the same way in humans.
This zinc de-regulation ends up doing cellular damage to the inner ear, specifically to the parts of the inner ear in control of clear hearing. Scientists are now thinking that this is one of the mechanisms that produces hearing damage related to noise exposure.
Treating hearing loss
Over time, this sort of understanding could help scientists prevent noise-induced hearing loss from ever happening, even in those individuals who are often exposed to loud noises. Regrettably, these developments are likely still some ways off. But that doesn’t mean your ears are defenseless.
So, how can you safeguard yourself from noise-related hearing loss?
There are a number of approaches you can employ to protect your ears:
- Limit your exposure to loud sounds: Sporting events, concerts, and jet engines come under this category. But many people would also be surprised to discover that everyday sounds like chatty offices, traffic, or leaf blowers can also lead to hearing damage.
- 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.
- Use ear protection: If there are noisy environments you want to be in, or simply can’t avoid, ear plugs and ear muffs can help decrease the damage. If you go to that concert, for example, wear a set of ear plugs to ensure you can still hear, but that your ears don’t become irreversibly damaged as a result.
Understand the causes, safeguard your ears
Can noise-induced hearing loss be cured? Unfortunately not. This form 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) develop better techniques and treatments designed to keep your hearing safe.
Even though this research is promising, we still have a ways to go. But every bit helps. Your direct role is to get your hearing tested and use ear protection.
