Music at a blaring concert, racket from tools at a construction site, or the firing of weapons can all cause noise-induced hearing loss. An acute traumatic injury to the ear from loud sounds can even progress into some more severe conditions including tinnitus and hyperacusis. People with tinnitus hear ringing or buzzing that isn’t there, while those with hyperacusis generally experience normal levels of sound as painful.Â
“Noise-induced hearing loss is very common and debilitating. It is a major cause of hearing loss, and one in every five people globally suffers from it,” University of Pittsburgh otolaryngologist Thanos Tzounopoulos, tells PopSci. “Hearing loss, especially noise-induced hearing loss, is very common, yet its biological mechanism is not fully understood.”
[Related: It’s never too early to start protecting your hearing.]
Tzounopoulos is a co-author of a new study that is putting this type of hearing loss in focus. His research found the molecular mechanisms of noise-induced hearing loss in mice and showed that medication can be used to mitigate it. The findings are described in a study published February 12 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
What does zinc have to do with hearing loss?
Zinc is an essential nutrient for living things. It helps the immune system, metabolism function, the senses of taste and smell, and even helps wounds heal.Â
About 90 percent of the zinc in the human body is bound to proteins to help them keep their structure and function, while the other 10 percent is considered “free zinc.” It is not tied to proteins and is stored in tiny vesicles inside of the cells and dysregulation zinc can cause problems at the cellular level.
“As previous literature showed, dysregulation in zinc signaling can cause cell degeneration and death and contributes to conditions like ischemia and optic nerve degeneration,” says Tzounopoulos.
A zinc…
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