![]() After several decades, the accumulation of these cell deaths manifests in incapacitating hearing loss, though it is after the age of 50 that this all speeds up. If the noise is sufficiently loud, the free radicals will cause many cells to die, producing vasoconstriction (narrowing of blood vessels) in the ear, which in turn leads to the generation of yet more free radicals (2-5), as is the case during a heart attack. A number of studies have shown that excessive noise mechanically and irreversibly alters hair cells in the cochlea throughout life. These harmful molecules, which can alter the ear’s cells, are generated by numerous factors such as smoking, excess weight, poor diet, the majority of the most popular over-the-counter medicines, and above all, noise, whether chronic or occasional (1). The best way of lessening the intensity of this process is to combat the formation of free radicals in the ear. Like presbyopia (long-sightedness), this process starts to develop after the age of 50, with high frequencies particularly affected as it is this type of frequency which is processed by the most sophisticated hair cells. Over time, the 30,000 hair cells of the inner ear (those that detect sound) become damaged and are permanently lost.
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