Can You Swallow a Pill to Avoid Going Deaf?
For many years scientists have been gathering data to support their findings that a pill might be able to limit the damage that loud noise causes to hearing. Human trials of the pill have now begun. It is hoped that the results of hearing tests will be improved after the substance is dissolved in the patient’s drink.
This progress is just a small step towards the creation of a pill that can cure hearing loss due to exposure to loud noise. There has been a considerable increase in the efforts in recent years.
No one is saying that the new research will lead to a replacement for ear protection. The pill is intended to be extra protection and work alongside existing ear protection to tackle the problem of hearing loss which is still wide spread with the protection that is currently available.
Federal government reports show that hearing loss has the second highest number of incidents reported for any occupational illness or injury. Sudden bursts or sound from things like explosions and long term exposure has meant that approximately 10 million Americans have to live with permanent hearing loss.
It is estimated that 30 million people are exposed to dangerous levels of noise from work including construction, mining, agriculture and manufacturing. Musicians are another high risk group.
Hearing damage is not only caused at work. Certain hobbies also pose a high risk of hearing damage including riffle shooting, race car driving and motorcycling. Specialized noise canceling headphones and earplugs do help but do not prevent all hearing damage.
Some forms of sound still manage to penetrate the current protection available. It is also not worn as regularly as it should be especially by those who are more prone to hearing loss. Sound can also cause damage to a person’s hearing by penetrating some areas of the skull.
Different approaches in the past have been made to try to create an ear strengthening pill. Research released in Israel in 1994 revealed that after receiving magnesium supplements military recruits avoided any hearing damage during their basic training. A lot of the focus in research today is on the use of antioxidants.
A lot of damage to hearing is now known to not be caused by the sheer force of sound waves against parts of the ear. After exposure to loud noise the inner ear releases chemicals called free radicals that actually cause a lot of the hearing loss.
Free radicals can be neutralized by antioxidants naturally present in the ear. There can be too many free radicals produced from excessive loud noise for the antioxidants to be able to neutralize. Free radicals can cause irreparable damage to the cells that are responsible for the conversion of sound into nerve impulses and once they die they can no longer send these messages to the brain. Once dead these cells cannot grow back so the hearing loss is permanent.
Increasing the level of antioxidants may improve the ear’s natural defenses against free radicals and this could work as an effective preventative measure against damage; or, if carried out straight after hearing loss has occurred may prove to be a useful treatment. The method of prevention has shown promising results in animal experiments. When it comes to the effectiveness of the antioxidants on humans, some experts remain cautious. The dose of antioxidant and sound levels will be varied in future trials on animals to try to determine the effectiveness of the antioxidant on people.
You can get the best sudden hearing loss information by visiting this website. Get more help on the topic of audiologists.
categories: hearing aids,hearing test
