It took 40 years, but scientists at Harvard Medical School (led by Jeffrey Holt, PHD) have finally worked out in detail how hearing is so important to our balance. They have discovered that a protein called TMC1 transmits sound and head motion into electronic signals, which are then used by the brain to maintain hearing and balance. This discovery follows …
Hearing Loss and Alzheimer’s Disease: An Important Connection
It’s World’s Alzheimer’s Month, which makes it a great time to address the subject of hearing loss. As more and more research suggests, the two conditions are strongly associated with each other, and treating hearing loss could have a significant effect on healthy brain function. Hearing loss is the third most common physical condition affecting older adults, after arthritis and …
How Treating Hearing Loss Helps Your Mental Health
If you suffer from hearing loss, you risk far more than missing out on a few words here and there, struggling to follow conversations, or feeling embarrassed by answering inappropriately. Hearing loss is closely linked to your mental and emotional health, and those with hearing loss are far more likely to suffer from depression than their hearing peers. Treating hearing …
The Link Between Hearing Loss and Happiness
The physical symptoms are what usually come to mind when we think about hearing loss. You have a ringing in your ears, sounds often seem muffled, or it has become difficult to hear and understand others when there is background noise. But we often forget to consider the emotional symptoms, and these can be just as real and disabling as …
A Link Between Cancer Treatment Drugs and Hearing Loss
It has been known for a while now that certain medications are ototoxic, or damaging to the ears, particularly if taken long-term or in high doses. This list of ototoxic medications includes aspirin, anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen, and Cisplatin, a common cancer-fighting chemotherapy drug. But because Cisplatin is so effective at targeting certain kinds of cancer, this drug–and other, similar …