Around one in four adults in the US suffer from noise-related hearing damage. This statistic applies to people between the ages of 20 and 69. But children and the elderly are even more sensitive to noise exposure.
So what are the best ways to prevent noise-induced hearing loss?
Hearing protection is extremely important and fairly effective. However, it is also crucial to maintain your general health if you want to preserve your hearing. In particular, you need to take care of the health of your nerves.
Loud noise damages your inner ear irrevocably. Hence, it is important to strengthen the nerves that connect your inner ear with your brain.
A New Approach to Prevention
New research shows that it could be possible to prevent noise-induced hearing loss by taking a vitamin derivative.
The scientists experimented with a chemical called nicotinamide riboside (NR). They applied it to mice. After receiving NR, the mice became more resistant to loud noise.
So could NR be the cure that we need to stay healthy?
The researchers found that this chemical gets absorbed very quickly. You could take it in the form of a pill. Additionally, it is a very stable compound.
The Effects of NR in the Body
But could it be possible to produce NR naturally?
There is a protein that is responsible for the way this chemical works. When researchers remove the gene that creates that protein, NR doesn’t work at all.
Furthermore, aging changes the way that this protein functions. But scientists believe that it could be possible to use NR to alter the way aging affects the human body. Thus, this research could cure more than just hearing loss.
