It may seem as if the causes of noise-related hearing loss are functionally well-established. After all, the name itself indicates a fairly direct cause-and-effect relationship. Our basic understanding is that permanent hearing damage is caused by exposure to overly loud sound over a long period of time.
And while that’s true, the mechanisms underpinning that cause have not always been so well established. But because of new research, we’re gaining a deeper understanding of noise-induced hearing loss, and this includes the role of zinc intake after being exposed to loud noises. Hearing loss and zinc regulation have a significant connection according to this research.
How is hearing impairment impacted by zinc?
Zinc is a commonplace mineral. The majority of individuals have plenty of zinc in their bodies, carrying out specific and necessary functions. Zinc helps your brain interpret chemical signals and is connected to immune system functions. In most instances, a person’s diet provides enough zinc.
At first, it may be challenging to determine the association between hearing loss and zinc. The link between zinc and hearing isn’t, after all, immediately apparent. However, a novel experiment has shed some light on what’s happening.
Researchers engaged in some analysis on mice that were exposed to loud sound. In mice, as with humans, the fragile mechanisms of the ear become damaged when exposed to loud sound. In humans, this may first be experienced as a temporary muffling of sound. As a person is regularly exposed to loud sound, this damage will become more severe and lasting. This damage can’t be cured in either humans or mice.
Researchers also took blood samples from the mice and noticed some interesting results in terms of free-floating zinc.
Does zinc help or cause hearing loss?
Because of this result, scientists now better understand how noise-related hearing loss symptoms occur. Normally, when zinc is in the body, it’s bound molecularly. Researchers discovered zinc in free-floating form after the experiment’s mice were exposed to loud noise. Zinc most likely reacts the same way in humans.
The free-floating zinc causes damage to delicate portions of the inner ear that are crucial in order to hear clearly. This is the mechanism that scientists now believe leads to the type of damage that causes noise-related hearing loss.
How to manage hearing loss
Over time, this sort of understanding may help scientists stop noise-induced hearing loss from ever happening, even in those people who are frequently subjected to loud noises. However, it might be some time before those developments become a viable reality. But there are still other ways to protect your ears.
So, you may be wondering: how can I prevent noise-related hearing loss?
There are several strategies you may utilize to safeguard your ears:
- Consistently check in with your hearing specialist: Getting a hearing test (and regularly checking in with us) can help identify damage early.
- Wear hearing 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. If you go to that concert, for example, use a set of ear plugs to ensure you can still hear, but that your ears don’t become permanently damaged as a result.
- Limit your exposure to loud sounds: Sporting events, concerts, and jet engines come under this category. But most individuals would also be surprised to discover that everyday noises like chatty offices, traffic, or lawnmowers can also result in hearing damage.
Safeguard your ears by understanding causes
Can noise-induced hearing loss be reversed? Regrettably not. Though you can successfully treat this type of hearing loss and any related tinnitus, it has no cure. 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. On an individual level, it’s crucial to take steps to protect your hearing and check in with your hearing specialist.