Is A Medication Available That Can Prevent Hearing Loss?

Evidence from laboratory testing with lab animals over many years has lead to the belief that a pill can reduce the damage caused to hearing from loud noise. Now the pill is about to be tested on humans. If all goes well, evidence will show that the new substance when dissolved in a drink can make a difference to the results of a hearing test.

Scientists are hoping that this will take them closer to the ultimate goal of finding a cure for damaged hearing or being able to prevent it completely. As scientists have got closer to their ultimate goal the efforts in recent years have been increased.

This research is not intended to provide a replacement for ear protection and ear plugs. It is intended to provide additional protection from hearing loss because standard protections haven't totally prevented the problem.

Federal government statistics show that hearing loss is a very common occupational hazard and the second highest reported form of occupational disease or injury. It is estimated that 10 million Americans have permanent hearing loss from loud noise caused by a sudden burst or a log-term exposure.

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. Another high risk occupation is being a professional musician.

Damage to a person's hearing is not always done at work. Going to a shooting range or watching a car or motorcycle race can also cause irreparable damage to your hearing. Earplugs and specialized sound canceling earmuffs do help but don't always prevent damage from occurring.

Some forms of sound still manage to penetrate the current protection available. Many people don't wear them as much as they should, even though they might be more susceptible to hearing loss than others. Sound can also cause damage to a person's hearing by penetrating some areas of the skull.

Other attempts in the past have been made to create a pill that can protect someone from hearing damage. According to Israeli researchers, in 1994 military recruits were able to avoid hearing loss during their basic training with the help of magnesium supplements in their diets. 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.

A lot of the damage that causes hearing loss is not actually caused by the sound directly. Damage can be caused by free radicals that the inner ear produces after having been exposed to high volumes.

Free radicals can be neutralized by antioxidants naturally present in the ear. However, too much noise means that there are not enough antioxidants present. The free radicals can kill the ear's hair like receptor cells that convert sound waves into electrical nerve messages. Once these receptor cells are dead, the hearing in damaged permanently.

Increasing the level of antioxidants could not only prevent hearing loss but if carried out straight after it occurs may actually treat it. The experiments on animals have yielded promising results for preventative measures against hearing loss. Experts are still cautious about the effectiveness of the antioxidant method on humans. 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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