Say What?
Your mother was right when she warned you that
loud music could damage your hearing, but now
scientists have discovered exactly what gets damaged
and how. In a research report published in the
September 2013 issue of The FASEB Journal, scientists
describe exactly what type of damage noise does to the
inner ear, and provide insights into a compound that
may prevent noise-related damage.
“Noise-induced hearing loss with accompanying tinnitus and sound hypersensitivity is a
common condition which leads to communication
problems and social isolation,” said Xiaorui Shi,
M.D., Ph.D., study author from the Department of
Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery at the Oregon
Hearing Research Center at Oregon Health and Science
University. “The goal of our study is to understand the
molecular mechanisms well enough to mitigate damage
from exposure to loud sound.”
To make this discovery, Shi and colleagues used three
groups of six- to eight-week-old mice, which consisted
of a control group, a group exposed to broadband noise
at 120 decibels for three hours a day for two days, and
a third group given single-dose injections of pigment
epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) prior to noise exposure.
PEDF is a protein found in vertebrates that is currently
being researched for the treatment of diseases like heart
disease and cancer. The cells that secrete PEDF in control
animals showed a characteristic branched morphology,
with the cells arranging in a self-avoidance pattern
which provided good coverage of the capillary wall. The
morphology of the same cells in the animals exposed to
wide-band noise, however, showed clear differences noise exposure caused changes in melanocytes located in
the inner ear.
“Hearing loss over time robs people of their quality
of life,” said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., editor-in-chief of
The FASEB Journal. “It’s easy to say that we should avoid
loud noises, but in reality, this is not always possible.
Front-line soldiers or first responders do not have time
to worry about the long-term effects of loud noise
when they are giving their all. If, however, a drug could
be developed to minimize the negative effects of loud
noises, it would benefit one and all.”
Source: Medical News Today
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