Can You Take a Drug and Save Your Hearing?

Scientists have been gathering evidence for years now from lab tests for a pill that might reduce damage to hearing caused by loud noise. There are now human trials in progress. The scientists hope that patients who take the substance dissolved in a drink will perform better during a hearing test.

This is the latest developments in the on going search for a pill that could even treat hearing loss caused by loud noise. There has been a considerable increase in the efforts in recent years.

The pill is not supposed to act as a replacement for ear protection such as ear protection. The pill will act as additional protection alongside the existing methods because the problem hearing loss is still widespread with the current level or protection available.

The federal government has reported that hearing loss accounts for the second highest reported occupational injuries or illnesses. The estimated number of Americans that have to live with permanent noise-induced hearing loss from long term exposure or a sudden high burst of sound, is 10 million.

30 million people are at risk of hearing damage due to their exposure to dangerous noise levels in their occupations in industries such as the construction, agriculture, mining and manufacturing industries. Musicians are also another group of people who risk hearing damage.

Hearing loss does not always occur whilst a person is at work. Going to the shooting range or race track are just some of the hobbies that can also pose a threat to a person's hearing. Specialized noise canceling headphones and earplugs do help but do not prevent all hearing damage.

There are sounds that manage to penetrate the protection. Not everyone wears them as often as they should and some people can be unusually susceptible to hearing damage than others. Damage can also be caused by sound that penetrates the skull and areas around where the protection is worn.

Different approaches in the past have been made to try to create an ear strengthening pill. In 1994 it was reported that military recruits on basic training were able to avoid any hearing loss with magnesium supplements in their diet. A lot of research nowadays is focused on antioxidants a type of chemical that is commonly known to be found in vitamins C and E.

The reason for this is that the force of loud sound is not always directly responsible for the damage to the hearing. After exposure to loud noise the inner ear releases chemicals called free radicals that actually cause a lot of the hearing loss.

The inner ear normally defends itself from the effects of free radicals by neutralizing them with antioxidants. Too much loud noise however can mean that there are not enough antioxidants to neutralize the free radicals. The free radicals can kill the ear's hair like receptor cells that convert sound waves into electrical nerve messages. The damage caused by the cells dieing is permanent.

Damage that has just occurred could be treated by increasing the antioxidants used in the ear's natural defense mechanism, or it could be part of a preventative measure. The experiments on animals have yielded promising results for preventative measures against hearing loss. However, some experts remain cautious when it comes to the antioxidant approach. To see whether the antioxidant will be useful on people further tests on animals are required with varying dose sizes and different sound levels.

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