Study shows that common supplements may reduce natural hearing loss (Phytosterols may reverse some loss)

Medical Xpress / Public Library of Science / PLoS Biology ^ | Aug. 24, 2023 | Sodero AO et al

[ConservativeMind]

Researchers report that age-related hearing loss is associated with a decrease of cholesterol in the inner ear.

Experiments show that phytosterols supplements were able to act in place of the lost cholesterol and prevent sensory dysfunction in mice.

Sensory cells in the inner ear called outer hair cells (OHCs) amplify sounds by changing their length. As we age, these cells lose their ability to stretch in response to sound, preventing sound amplification and leading to age-related hearing loss. Because cholesterol is a key player in the stretch response, and because brain cholesterol has recently been shown to decrease with age, researchers hypothesized that hearing loss might be related to loss of cholesterol in OHCs. This hypothesis was tested in mice.

First, the researchers measured the amount of CYP46A1 in inner ear OHCs because this enzyme helps break down and recycle cholesterol. As expected, they found more CYP46A1 in the inner ears of older mice than in younger mice, and consequently less cholesterol.

Next, they showed cause and effect by inducing hearing loss in young mice, as indicated by abnormal inner ear-cell output, by over-activating CYP46A1 with a drug. Finally, they tested whether increasing cholesterol in the brain could counter the drug.

Since cholesterol itself cannot actually enter the brain from the blood, the researchers used plant-based cholesterol-like compounds called phytosterols which can. The young mice who got both the CYP46A1-activating drug and three weeks of dietary phytosterols displayed improved OHC function.

As phytosterols can be found in many over-the-counter supplements, they could be a convenient way to combat age-related hearing loss.

"Our findings are very promising because they provide the first proof-of-principle supporting phytosterols supplementation as a possible approach for prevention or treatment of hearing loss."

[ConservativeMind]

This was proof of concept, but phytosterols are easy enough to try out from foods and supplements.

[ConservativeMind]

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[Magnum44]

So will cleaning out your ear wax...

[Red Badger]

What?.....................

[Rio]

many varieties on amazon...

[NewJerseyJoe]

P4L

[MarMema]

Thanks!