New OTC Hearing Wonder Drug? Hold Your Applause
Do you notice you frequently ask your wife to repeat herself?
Or maybe you have trouble hearing when your buddies get together for poker night.
Even the background noise in a loud restaurant makes it impossible to hear the waitress rattling off the dinner specials.
Well, researchers now tout a potential over-the-counter (OTC) rescue drug to reverse this kind of auditory decline. But, despite the recent fanfare over this potential, questions remain unanswered when it comes to both safety and efficacy.
Let’s turn down the hype volume and put science before sales.
Inner ear hair cells convert vibrations into neural signals—and they rely on zinc molecules to function. But noise exposure causes excess zinc to flood these structures, eventually inducing cell death which impairs hearing.
Researchers found a that a medication—which absorbs the zinc before noise exposure—prevented auditory damage in mice. And, introducing these “zinc sponges” after noise exposure also reduced hearing deterioration and phantom ringing noises (called tinnitus). Impressive!
But seeing it’s unlikely we’ll see these types of long-lasting repairs in humans.
And, even restoring partial hearing could still leave patients functionally deaf or requiring hearing aids. So what actually constitutes as “restoration”—any slight improvement or full hearing capacity?
While the zinc-targeting method seems promising from initial animal trials, no human testing exists proving similar protection, recovery, or lack of side effects.
At least, not yet.
But, it seems as though Big Pharma is aggressively pursuing over-the-counter approval before conducting thorough clinical trials. This risks providing false hope or profiting off unproven solutions. (Sound familiar?)
The bottom line? This emerging hearing loss treatment warrants further research. Especially since most newly developed drugs do show amazing potential in the beginning… but then end up failing in larger scale trials.
So, it’s best to avoid buying into pitches until thorough studies verify both safety and long-term results.
In the meantime, focus on prevention and protecting your hearing. Schedule an audiogram and get your hearing tested to catch any changes early. Protect your hearing by lowering volumes, wearing protective equipment, and allowing ears rest from overstimulation.
You can also reduce excess earwax accumulation by avoiding cotton swabs. And of course, address any hearing problems you already notice.
Hearing loss goes far beyond asking loved ones to repeat themselves, it can speed up your physical decline and even impact your mobility (more on that here).
To hearing soundly,
Rachel Mace
Editor, e-Alert with contributions from the research team
Sources:
