| Some Help for this Frustration Condition! | | | | dose 167 milligrams (mg) of magnesium-but even this |
| In this article, I'll talk about the two supplements-one a | | | | was enough to raise the level of magnesium inside |
| herb and the other a mineral-that could help both treat | | | | cells and protect the ears from damage. Soldiers |
| and prevent hearing loss. We're not talking about | | | | taking magnesium were less likely to get permanent |
| "tinnitus," which is the condition that causes ringing in the | | | | hearing damage, and if damage did set in, it was less |
| ears. Instead, this is about losing hearing itself. The ears | | | | severe. Fast-forward to 2004, when a study explored |
| are amazing receptacles of sound. "Waves" of sound | | | | the protective effects of magnesium in 20 men. |
| travel through the air and vibrate in your eardrums. The | | | | Magnesium was able to provide "significant" protection |
| vibrations are sent to the inner ear, where there are | | | | against hearing damage without any side effects. |
| tiny cells that actually move in response to the | | | | Researchers here called magnesium a "novel, |
| vibrations. It is this movement that generates an | | | | biological, natural agent" for noise induced hearing |
| electrical signal that is sent down a nerve pathway to | | | | damage.28 They also included one note: it may help |
| the brain. All of this, of course, happens instantly. Your | | | | treat hearing loss, as well. Now, on that note, I have a |
| brain translates these signals into something | | | | third study to report. In it, 28 patients who had sudden, |
| meaningful-music or words, for example-that have a | | | | noise-induced hearing loss were given steroids, |
| certain volume or pitch to them. Now, there are many | | | | placebo or magnesium supplements. Sure enough, far |
| things that can disrupt this process and cause loss of | | | | more people taking the mineral had improved hearing. |
| hearing. Infections could strike the inner ear, the | | | | This study confirms that magnesium may not just |
| eardrum, the auditory nerve or even the brain, | | | | prevent noise-induced hearing loss, but help treat it, |
| disrupting your ears' ability to channel sound. Fluid can | | | | too.29 |
| collect in the middle ear, or too much wax can block | | | | Treating Sudden Hearing Loss |
| the outer ear. Your eardrum and hair cells can be | | | | The cause of sudden hearing loss is unknown, but |
| damaged, the latter by loud noise. Some drugs, such | | | | circulation is believed to be part of the problem. That |
| as "quinine," antibiotics and aspirin, may affect those | | | | theory is the reason that ginkgo biloba is considered to |
| hair cells. Many people experience simple age-related | | | | be a herbal treatment, as it increases the body's |
| hearing loss. Three more causes are far more severe | | | | circulation. In 2001, researchers gave 106 patients |
| than the hearing loss that they might trigger: multiple | | | | ginkgo at either 120 mg two times a day or 12 mg two |
| sclerosis, brain tumors and stroke. For the purposes of | | | | times a day.30 All of the patients had a specific form |
| this article, let's focus on two hearing conditions | | | | of sudden hearing loss. The low dose of ginkgo was |
| exclusively. | | | | chosen because they thought that it would serve as |
| Preventing Noise-induced Hearing Loss | | | | placebo and have no effect at all. Amazingly, though, |
| The natural cure for stopping it before it happens is the | | | | they were wrong! It didn't matter which dose the |
| mineral that seems to do so much for us: magnesium. | | | | patients took, most of them recovered from the |
| People who should seriously consider taking | | | | sudden hearing loss two months later. It is very |
| magnesium supplements are those who are often | | | | interesting, but it doesn't totally prove that ginkgo is |
| exposed to piercing sounds. This could mean gunfire, | | | | effective, because it's possible that many people with |
| live music or tools that are used in construction. Over | | | | sudden hearing loss simply recover on their own |
| the long term, loud noise can cause permanent hearing | | | | anyway. However, a second study that year |
| loss. This is the reason that prevention is so critical. | | | | compared ginkgo to the drug "pentoxifylline" for |
| Nobody knows exactly how the mineral works to | | | | treating sudden deafness in 72 patients. Both |
| protect the ear, but research has proved it. Nothing is | | | | treatments proved to work equally effectively, |
| as effective as wearing devices such as headphones, | | | | although patients on ginkgo reported better |
| but magnesium will provide an extra layer of | | | | improvement overall. In any event, the herb worked as |
| protection. In the mid-1990s, researchers performed a | | | | well as the drug did. Speak to your doctor about |
| two-month study on 300 military recruits who were | | | | magnesium and ginkgo if you have damaged hearing |
| exposed daily to loud noises.27 They used a small | | | | or believe that you are at risk. |