Home | About NaturalNews | Contact Us | Write for NaturalNews | Media Info | Advertise with Natural News
hearing loss

Hearing loss is not an inevitable part of aging

Saturday, December 05, 2009 by: S. L. Baker, features writer




Share
(NaturalNews) NaturalNews has already reported how a long-accepted "fact" about aging -- that our brains shrink -- has turned out to be bogus science. (http://www.naturalnews.com/027212_brains_aging_health.html). Now comes research that strongly suggests another medical "fact" about getting older is just plain wrong. New evidence indicates that a physical problem considered to be virtually inevitable as people age, hearing loss, could be preventable by eating an antioxidant rich diet or by taking antioxidant supplements.

The most common sensory disorder among elders, hearing loss affects more than 40% of people in the US over age 65, according to data from the National Health Survey. And hearing loss is expected to be a problem for at least 28 million older Americans by 2030. Losing hearing acuity in later years involves the death of nerves, hair and membrane cells inside the inner ear. Because the hair and nerve cells are not thought to be capable of regeneration, their death causes permanent hearing loss. But is it just living into middle age and beyond that causes these changes? Findings recently published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicate the answer is "no".

Antioxidants protect against hearing loss

University of Florida (UF) researchers, along with scientists from the University of Wisconsin and three other institutions, have identified a protein that appears to be the key that directs processes causing oxidative damage to cells. The result of this damage is hearing loss. These findings suggest protecting against oxidative damage with antioxidant therapies or by regularly eating antioxidant rich foods could potentially prevent or even treat hearing loss in older adults.

A popular theory of aging revolves around the concept that oxidative damage from free radicals harms the mitochondria, the energy center of cells. When the damage continues over months and years, the mitochondria are thrown into havoc and release proteins that cause cells to die. This leads to a host of physical effects associated with aging -- including hearing loss.

"Within the mitochondria these proteins cause life, but when they're out they're deadly," Professor Christiaan Leeuwenburgh, Ph.D., chief of the biology of aging division at UF's College of Medicine and a member of the Institute on Aging, said in a statement to the media.

A particular protein dubbed Bak is induced by oxidative stress and levels of this protein increase when people age. Bak is known to play a specific role in weakening the mitochondrial membrane, making it leaky and allowing harmful proteins to move into the rest of the cell. So, to find out if Bak is involved in age-related hearing loss, the scientists studied middle-aged mice bred to be deficient in Bak. They found the animals had hearing levels comparable to far younger mice.

Then the researchers exposed inner ear cells of the Bak lacking mice to a chemical that caused oxidative stress. The result? There was only a minor loss of cells related to hearing. So the research team concluded it must be Bak, produced in response to oxidative stress, that pushes the death of cells in the auditory portion of the inner ear. And because older people faced with oxidative stress (from chemicals, drugs, air pollution, processed foods, etc.) over the years have more and more Bak in their bodies, it is easy to see the connection to hearing loss.

In addition, the scientists discovered that the onset of age-related hearing loss was significantly delayed in animals with excess amounts of an enzyme that scavenge free radicals, as well as in animals that were fed antioxidants. "This paper clearly shows us that oxidative stress causes hearing loss," said Jinze Xu, a UF postdoctoral fellow, in the media statement. Bottom line: if oxidative stress triggers damage and death of hearing-related cells, boosting the defenses of the mitochondria with antioxidants should prevent or reduce this damage.

Editor's note: NaturalNews is opposed to the use of animals in medical experiments that expose them to harm. We present these findings in protest of the way in which they were acquired.

For more information:
http://news.ufl.edu/2009/11/09/hearing-loss/

Get breaking health news + a LIFETIME 7% discount on everything at the NaturalNews Store
Join two million monthly readers. Email privacy 100% protected. Unsubscribe at any time.

Articles Related to This Article:

Prevent and Even Reverse Age-Related Hearing Loss with Good Nutrition

Aldosterone Provides New Treatment for Age-Related Hearing Loss

Hearing loss from chemotherapy underestimated (press release)

Vision loss, hearing loss appear to have common cause

Hormone Replacement Therapy may cause hearing loss, study reveals

Age related hearing loss halted with folate nutrient

Related video from NaturalNews.TV


Your NaturalNews.TV video could be here.
Upload your own videos at NaturalNews.TV (FREE)

Have comments on this article? Post them here:

 people have commented on this article.

Related Articles:

Prevent and Even Reverse Age-Related Hearing Loss with Good Nutrition

Aldosterone Provides New Treatment for Age-Related Hearing Loss

Hearing loss from chemotherapy underestimated (press release)

Vision loss, hearing loss appear to have common cause

Hormone Replacement Therapy may cause hearing loss, study reveals

Age related hearing loss halted with folate nutrient

Take Action: Support NaturalNews.com

Email this article to a friend

Share this article on: NewsVine | digg | del.icio.us

Permalink to this article:

Reprinting this article: Non-commercial use OK, cite NaturalNews.com with clickable link.

Embed article link: (copy HTML code below):
Most Popular
Today | Week | Month | Year

See all Top Headlines...


GET YOUR FREE GIFT + SHOW DETAILS.


Now Available from NaturalNews.TV

Across the Web

More News...

Also on NaturalNews:

Health Ranger Videos
Activist music
CounterThink Cartoons
Food documentaries
FREE Special Reports
Podcasts
Advertise with NaturalNews...

Support NaturalNews Sponsors:
Advertise with NaturalNews...

Most Popular Stories

Collecting rainwater now illegal in many states as Big Government claims ownership over our water Share
FDA finally admits chicken meat contains cancer-causing arsenic (but keep eating it, yo!) Share
Senate Bill S 510 Food Safety Modernization Act vote imminent: Would outlaw gardening and saving seeds Share
Anti-foaming agent found in Chicken McNuggets Share
Court rules organic farmers can sue conventional, GMO farmers whose pesticides 'trespass' and contaminate their fields Share
R.I.P. Bill of Rights 1789 - 2011 Share
Why McDonald's Happy Meal hamburgers won't decompose - the real story behind the story Share
Federal agents raid Mormon food storage facility, demand list of customers storing emergency food Share
H1N1 vaccine linked to 700 percent increase in miscarriages Share
14 signs that the collapse of our modern world has already begun Share
Artificial Sweetener Disease; a new breed of sickness Share
Forensic evidence emerges that European e.coli superbug was bioengineered to produce human fatalities Share
The NaturalNews Store

Huge discounts on supplements, raw foods, botanicals and healthly personal care products. Save up to 50%! Click here to see the current sale items

Health Ranger Storable Organics

GMO-free, chemical-free foods and superfoods for long-term storage and preparedness. Bulk pricing! Shipping immediately. See selection at www.StorableOrganics.com

25 Amazing Facts About Food

This FREE downloadable report unveils a collection of astonishing and little-known facts about the food we eat very day. Click here to read it now...

 

Resveratrol and its Effects on Human Health and Longevity - Myth or Miracle.

Unlock the secrets of cellular health with the "miracle" nutrient Resveratrol Click here to read it now...

 

Nutrition Can Save America

FREE online report shows how we can save America through a nutrition health care revolution. "Eating healthy is patriotic!" Click here to read it now...

The Healing Power of Sunlight and Vitamin D

In this exclusive interview, Dr. Michael Holick reveals fascinating facts on how vitamin D is created and used in the human body to ward off chronic diseases like cancer, osteoporosis, mental disorders and more. Click here to read it now...

Vaccines: Get the Full Story

The International Medical Council on Vaccination has released, exclusively through NaturalNews.com, a groundbreaking document containing the signatures of physicians, brain surgeons and professors, all of which have signed on to a document stating that vaccines pose a significant risk of harm to the health of children. Click here to read it now...



This site is part of the Natural News Network © 2011 All Rights Reserved. Privacy | Terms All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing International, LTD. is not responsible for content written by contributing authors. The information on this site is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional advice of any kind. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. Your use of this website indicates your agreement to these terms and those published here. All trademarks, registered trademarks and servicemarks mentioned on this site are the property of their respective owners.