Hearing loss is associated with aging and/or prolonged exposure to loud noises - guns firing, firecracker, jets taking off, the amplified sounds of music at rock concert, the sound of power tools, the loud motors of snowmobiles or motorcycles and the amplified sound from iPod. Noise-induced hearing loss can stem from prolonged exposure or even a one-time exposure to loud noise.

Hearing experts now regard as a serious and growing problem among young and not so young people who are listening to music most of the day. This is taking a toll on the hearing of a whole generation. The incidence of noise-induced hearing loss has been increasing since the first Walkmans were introduced. There are now 10 million baby boomers with hearing loss, a million more than the number of people over the age of 65 with hearing loss.

• Avoid dehydration. Drink 6-8 glasses of clean water daily
• Get adequate rest; avoid fatigue.
• Reduce sugar intake
• Lower your salt intake (salt impairs blood circulation).
• Avoid high fat diets which contributes to hearing loss and tinnitus.
• Exercise daily.
• Avoid stimulants such as coffee, tea, cola and tobacco
• Avoid exposure to loud sounds and noises
• Wear ear plugs before exposure to loud noises
• Give iPods a rest.
• Avoid using "ear candling" for the removal of ear wax which does no good but harm
• Avoid inserting cotton swabs into the ear canal which might injury the ear drum
• Avoid getting water trapped in the ear canal predisposing to ear infection

1) Vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E with magnesium

• May 2007, published in the journal "Free Radical Biology Medicine", researchers from the University of Michigan studied the effects of hearing loss after noise trauma. In their study they compared the effects of three combinations of the vitamins with magnesium and a placebo in guinea pigs. One group got vitamins A, C and E; another got A, C, and E plus magnesium; a third got magnesium alone and a fourth received placebos. An hour later, all groups were then exposed to noise as loud as the sound of a jet taking off at close range. The noise was loud enough to induce hearing loss. The vitamin and mineral doses were repeated once a day for five days. The Michigan researchers explained that noise-induced trauma causes the energy-producing mitochondria in the nerve cells of the ear to churn out damaging free radicals. Excessive free radical activity can damage the inner ear leading to hearing loss. The researchers reported that the combination of vitamins A, C, E plus magnesium prevented the damage that leads to hearing loss. They hypothesized that the doses taken after noise exposure seem to have "scavenged" the free radicals that continue to form even after noise exposure ends. The lead researcher is confident enough that the findings will hold up in humans. They have launched a startup company to develop the vitamin/magnesium combination. They envision combining the vitamins and magnesium into a nutrition bar to be given to soldiers for daily hearing protection in war zones and to people who work in noisy environments or who habitually listen to loud music.
• October, 2007, published in the journal "Current Opinions of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery", researchers from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit said that at a cellular and sub-cellular level, hearing impairment is precipitated by oxidative stress and damage. There was compelling evidence that antioxidant supplementation is beneficial for improving and even reversing the effects of many types of acquired hearing loss.
• October 2007, published in the journal "Neurobiology of Aging", the University of Michigan researchers investigated oxidative stress in the cochlea of a group of aging mice. They indicated that there is oxidative imbalance in the aging inner ear and over time there were increasing markers of oxidative stress with decreased levels of antioxidant found in the cochlea of these mice.

Reference

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