Potentially good news for old machinists and over-the-hill heavy metal fans:
"Five years ago, a team of researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) was able to regrow cochlear hair cells in mice for the first time. These hair cells are found in the cochlear region of ears in all mammals. They sense sound vibrations, convert those into brain signals, and eventually allow a person to hear and understand the different sounds around them. The new study from URMC researchers sheds light on the underlying mechanism that allowed the ear hairs to regrow in mice."
"We know from our previous work that expression of an active growth gene, called ERBB2, was able to activate the growth of new hair cells (in mammals), but we didn't fully understand why. This new study tells us how that activation is happening—a significant advance toward the ultimate goal of generating new cochlear hair cells in mammals," said Patricia White, one of the study authors and a neuroscience professor at URMC."
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Friday April 21 2023, @12:16AM (14 children)
for ridding me of my raging case of tinnitus I've been having for a solid 40 years following a bout of meningitis.
I suspect a lot of people who were exposed to loud noises also experience tinnitus and are also more bothered by that than by the hearing loss.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Tork on Friday April 21 2023, @12:22AM (2 children)
I worry that tinnitus is in my future. I'm nearly the age my dad was when he started mentioning sleeping with the TV on because of the ringing... and I've noticed I'm saying "What?" a lot more... I hope my hearing's not on the way out.
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 21 2023, @04:32AM (1 child)
I'm having problems tinnitus too.
My suspicion is it is related to the loud music that got started up in my church when a new worship team took over.
I had started going to church again when I found a group of older people concerned with interpreting the holy books. All religions. And trying to correlate all these differing views into what they were trying to say...but the newbies in control seemed to think louder is better and needed an entertainment centered venue with lots of display. Heck, we older guys avoided the entertainment venues, and many restaurants, due to sound levels. Oh yes, I have earmuffs. My electric saws drive me nuts. So do some motorcyclists when they gun it under a bridge.
So, the church musicians converted me to a "none" ( religious affiliation), I don't go to noisy places, wear my earmuffs when using the saws, and things go fine...but I still have problems making out speech, especially on the phone.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 21 2023, @04:07PM
Yep - especially when they need to drown out the "still small voice" to keep hold on the congregation.
- 1 Kings 19 (KJV)
(Score: 4, Interesting) by UncleBen on Friday April 21 2023, @12:26AM
Regrow the hair cells. Betcha the tinnitus will diminish. (Mine does when my hearing aids are in, my theory is that it’s partially making up noise for the lack of signals.)
And anyone doing a trial?
Sign me up.
(Score: 1) by braddollar on Friday April 21 2023, @08:12AM (1 child)
I came across this not too long ago, and you might find this interesting / helpful:
https://www.lenire.com/ [lenire.com]
Lenire - Tinnitus Treatment Using Bimodal Neuromodulation
Lenire is an evidence-based tinnitus treatment, created by Neuromod Devices, that uses bimodal neuromodulation to soothe and relieve symptoms.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Freeman on Friday April 21 2023, @12:48PM
I'm sorry, you lost me at, "here put this weird looking device in your mouth and let us shock you".
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2, Interesting) by pTamok on Friday April 21 2023, @08:18AM
My sympathies. My tinnitus sounds like Cathode-ray TV flyback transformer whine. All. The. Time.
It's weird, because the tone that I 'hear' is higher pitch than the frequencies my aging ears can hear when tested.
I'm lucky enough to have access to places that are truly quiet - where you can hear incandescent lightbulbs hum at the supply frequency*, snowflakes landing on your clothes**, or your own heartbeat, and I'd love to experience them without that background whine.
*No, not on a dimmer.
**Yes, really. It was admittedly a nylon windproof jacket, but the sound of snow-crystals landing on it was very distinctive. I wondered what on earth it was at first.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 21 2023, @09:01AM
I had my tinnitus and slight hearing loss on one side for about 25ish years now, I got it after a traffic accident. That said it's not that bad, or I just got used to it. I'm not sure if I would be more freaked out if it wasn't there or not. The selective hearing loss on one side is great in some regards, it makes it real easy to sleep in noisier environments as I can just roll over and put the good side down and the other side up there by muffling the sounds.
(Score: 2) by Nobuddy on Friday April 21 2023, @12:27PM
Amen a d hallelujah
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 21 2023, @01:37PM
There are a bunch of boofheads who just love to creepy up to people with their car on the street and gun it so the engine backfires. It can be head for blocks around. This happened out on the freeway a short time ago. Since then I've noticed that I can't hear as well as I used to. It's like I am wearing earplugs. These young dickheads in their road machines just in it for a laugh don't care that what they are doing to me today will be done to them tomorrow.
(Score: 2) by cmdrklarg on Friday April 21 2023, @03:36PM (1 child)
Hell yes, sign me up.
- Member of the Over The Hill Heavy Metal Fans club
The world is full of kings and queens who blind your eyes and steal your dreams.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 21 2023, @11:31PM
I have no sympathy. I've spent my life being blasted by other people's music, cars, etc and while we're at it cigarette smoke. If people want to hurt themselves, then fine. Just don't blame society and ask for a handout to fix it.
Hoons still drive down the road in their cars which seem to be designed to play music at over 100db and with rotary engines you can hear miles away. Literally miles away. Live and learn.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by istartedi on Friday April 21 2023, @04:16PM (1 child)
For (very temporary) relief from tinnitus there's an interesting trick you may or may not know. Put the heel of your hands over both ears so that the finger-tips meet in the back of your head. Now for about 10 to 15 seconds, tap your finger tips together. It might sound funny while you're doing it, now take your hands away and you'll get some very brief, true quiet.
I don't know if it works for everybody. IIRC, it's a way of temporarily getting the brain to use an alternative compensation mechanism for the dead hair cells.
Also, make sure to wear hearing protection when necessary to hold on to what you've got. I noticed some increased ringing after wood splitting. I learned this is short-term damage which actually does heal; but you don't want any damage if you can avoid it. I wear shooter's ear protection now when splitting wood.
Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 21 2023, @11:29PM
Hey, that trick worked. It did subside for a while. Thanks!
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday April 21 2023, @01:15AM
I was born with a nasty auditory-nerve hearing loss, one that ranges from -20dB to -70dB. A cure would be really nice. Even with hearing aids, and for most of my life I couldn't afford those, you don't get normal hearing. It's like how a blurry picture doesn't become sharper just because you zoom in and up the saturation :/
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 21 2023, @06:07AM (1 child)
A few years ago a paper was published which showed that hearing loss is not just caused by lowing cochlear hairs.
The paper showed that exposure to a too-loud sound killed one of the seven(?) nerves between each hair and the brain. Unless there's a way to regrow nerve cells, it won't completely solve hearing loss.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 21 2023, @01:39PM
Perhaps they could?
https://knowledgeburrow.com/how-long-does-it-take-for-nerves-to-regenerate/ [knowledgeburrow.com]
(Score: 3, Funny) by corey on Friday April 21 2023, @11:47PM
This is awesome, I needed a bit of good news. So far in scrolling Sn, I’ve read about the Paris Accord blown away, a fancy new AI system, etc. Thanks!