Hearing Loss

When you go to a quiet place and listen, what do you hear? If you said “nothing,” then count yourself fortunate. Personally, I hear a constant tea-kettle-shrill whistle that varies in volume and tone from day to day. I always hear it. That’s because I have hearing-loss induced tinnitus. It’s not fun. In fact, until you adapt to it, it can make your life a living hell. My tinnitus was caused by an ear infection that got bad enough to do permanent damage, but I’m often dismayed to see people risking the same symptoms by exposing themselves to loud sounds without ear protection. New research from the University of Leicester shows just how important it is to protect your ears, and may offer some hope of improved hearing to millions of people with hearing loss. Previous research has shown that when loud sound causes hearing loss the myelin, the coating of the auditory nerve, becomes thinner. This new research provides proof that having thinner myelin slows down the transmission of signals along the nerve. “This