Nutrient Combo May Curb Hearing Loss

Magnesium and Vitamins A, C, E May Help Prevent Noise-Induced Hearing Loss WebMD 3/30/07 "The guinea pigs were only exposed to the noise once. They got daily doses of their assigned treatment for the five days following noise exposure. Five days after noise exposure, the guinea pigs took hearing tests and had their ears examined. The guinea pigs that got the combination treatment of magnesium and vitamins A, C, and E had the least amount of noise-induced hearing loss and ear damage...The researchers speculate that the nutrient combination might reduce hearing loss even when it's only given after exposure to noise, but this study didn't test that theory. The University of Michigan has applied for patents for the nutrient combination's use in preventing noise-induced hearing loss"

In this case does applying for patent indicate unpublished but major findings in order to assure patent approval? Because this research alone doesn't seem to warrant a patent - so maybe they're sitting on other papers till the patent is approved. Or maybe the press isn't doing justice to the research. Who knows.

Other supplements that have shown promise for a variety of types of hearing loss here.

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Folic Acid May Slow Hearing Loss

Older Adults Taking Folic Acid Supplements Show Less Loss of Low-Frequency Hearing WebMD 1/2/07 "After three years, those who got folic acid pills had less low-frequency hearing loss than did placebo recipients. The difference was slight: 0.7 decibels. The smallest change in sound intensity most people can notice is 1.0 decibels. There was no slowing of high-frequency hearing loss. That may be because high-frequency hearing loss begins earlier in life than age 50..."If this [hearing] benefit applies to the entire population (a big 'if') and continues to accrue each year (another big 'if'), one might expect a 5-decibel reduction in age-related [hearing loss] over a 20-year period,""

Lead researcher Jane Durga, PhD

This study doesn't appear to go further than this study in answering whether the problem of hearing loss might be greatly attributable to free radical damage from high homocysteine levels. Attacking the free radical damage from the antioxidant angle, N-acetylcysteine (NAC), seems to show increasing promise.

The Dutch do not supplement their flower with folate the way we do in the U.S., so one would suspect that our higher folate diets would be slowing our hearing loss, but the study doesn't address this. As always, we need more research.

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