Researchers have found that some nutraceuticals may prevent and even reverse certain hearing losses in soldiers. Some of these are found in red grapes and red wine.

Studies show that more than 12% of all deployed American soldiers who return from conflicts around the globe experience noise-induced hearing loss.

Researchers can now determine how noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus-related traumatic brain injury occurs.

A research team at Henry Ford Hospital in the US has discovered that some neutraceuticals may not only prevent, but also reverse hearing loss in certain circumstances for soldiers. Some of these neutraceuticals can be found in red grapes and red wine.

As part of the research, the research team developed a model of blast-induced tinnitus and hearing loss using a shock tube that generates a 194dB shock wave. The model generates a shock wave that is very similar to many of the explosive devices that are deployed against soldiers.

New strategies discovered

The research team at Henry Ford Hospital are said to be the first to identify how acoustic trauma from machinery and explosive devices damages the inner ear cells and breaks down and stops cell growth.

"Noise-induced hearing loss doesn’t just impact a person’s ability to hear: it can cause balance issues, make it difficult to sleep and communicate, and even raise the risk for heart disease by increasing a person’s blood pressure, lipids and blood sugar,” said Dr. Michael Seidman, who led the research team.

Used by permission of www.hear-it.org
Original article: http://www.hear-it.org/Noise-induced-hearing-loss-in-soldiers-may-be-prevented