It might seem as if the roots of noise-related hearing loss are functionally well-recognized. A fairly obvious cause-and-effect connection is suggested by the name, after all. Our fundamental understanding is that permanent hearing damage is a result of 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. That’s improving, thanks to emerging research into the role of zinc management after exposure to loud noises. Hearing loss and zinc regulation have an important connection according to this research.
What is zinc? And how does it impact hearing impairment?
Zinc is a mineral needed for carrying out necessary bodily functions and the majority of people have an abundance of it. Healthy levels of zinc are connected with a well-functioning immune system and play a role in how well your brain translates chemical signals. With a few exceptions, the vast majority of people receive enough zinc from their food every day.
At first, it may be challenging to determine the connection between hearing loss and zinc. After all, it’s not instantly obvious what role zinc plays in your hearing. A new experiment has started to reveal what’s going on, however.
Researchers exposed mice to loud sounds and conducted a few analyses afterward. In mice, as with humans, the fragile mechanisms of the ear become damaged when exposed to loud sound. In humans, this might first be encountered as a temporary muffling of sound. As a person is regularly exposed to loud sound, this damage will become more severe and lasting. In both mice and humans, the body isn’t capable of healing or repairing this damage.
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?
Scientists now have a greater picture of how the symptoms of noise-induced hearing loss occur because of these results. Typically, zinc in the body is molecularly bound. Researchers detected zinc in free-floating form after the experiment’s mice were subjected to loud noise. Zinc most likely responds the same way in humans.
This zinc de-regulation ends up causing cellular damage to the inner ear, particularly 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 due to noise exposure.
How to manage hearing loss
In the future, this sort of understanding may help scientists stop noise-related hearing loss from ever happening, even in those individuals who are often subjected to loud noises. Unfortunately, these advancements are likely still some ways off. But there are still other ways to protect your ears.
So, how can you safeguard yourself from noise-related hearing loss?
There are a number of approaches you may use to safeguard your ears:
- Limit your exposure to loud noises: Sporting events, concerts, and jet engines fall into this category. 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 speaking loudly in a bustling office.
- Regularly check in with your hearing specialist: Detecting 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.
- Use hearing protection: If there are loud environments you want to be in, or simply can’t avoid, ear plugs and ear muffs can help lessen the damage. If you attend that concert, for example, wear a set of ear plugs to ensure you can still hear, but that your ears don’t become permanently damaged as a consequence.
Understand the causes, safeguard your ears
Can you cure noise-related hearing loss? Regrettably not. Though you can effectively treat this type of hearing loss and any related tinnitus, it can’t be cured. Better understanding the causes of hearing loss and the mechanisms by which hearing loss works can help hearing specialists (and you) formulate better techniques and treatments designed to keep your hearing safe.
Although this research is promising, we still have a ways to go. But we appear to be getting closer to understanding. Your direct role is to get your hearing checked and use ear protection.