Aldosterone and Age-Related Hearing Loss: Everything You Need to Know
By NaturalsPro Staff
Around 33% of people between 65 and 74 have hearing loss. And that number jumps to almost 50% for those who are older than 75.
As you can see, there's a direct correlation between aging and hearing loss. Many of us already know about this and have already resigned ourselves to the fact that with each year that goes by, the worse our hearing will get.
But what if we told you that you can prevent this from happening with something called aldosterone?
In this article, we'll explain what aldosterone is and how it may have something to do with age-related hearing loss.
What Is Aldosterone?
Aldosterone is a hormone that's produced in your adrenal glands; more specifically, in the cortex area. These glands sit right on top of your kidneys, meaning they're located in the lower back part of your torso.
Aldosterone is an important hormone, as it has to do with how your body regulates your blood pressure. It sends out either weak or strong signals to adjust how much sodium your body has in the bloodstream.
In fact, it can also cause your bloodstream to reabsorb sodium so your blood volume increases. Pretty neat, right?
Another role aldosterone plays is how much potassium you eliminate in your urine. As a result, this hormone has a pretty important effect on the pH of your blood, as well as your electrolyte levels. Without proper electrolyte levels, your muscles may cramp up and not work the way they should.
Relation to Renin and Angiotensin
Together, aldosterone and these two other hormones make the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS). They work in harmony with one another to ensure your blood pressure and balance of fluids and electrolytes are perfect.
The RAAS is vital to your survival when you have a sudden decrease in blood pressure or massive blood loss due to injury. The renin signals angiotensin to be produced, which then results in aldosterone being produced as well.
This whole system works to get your body's balance right again promptly. Once it does, then the production levels of all 3 hormones drop.
What Does Aldosterone Have to Do With Hearing?
After reading all of the above, you may be thinking: what does aldosterone have anything to do with hearing?
Before we tackle that, you must first understand what we've traditionally used to treat hearing loss.
Usually, doctors will prescribe corticosteroids/glucocorticoids for both hearing loss and balance disorders. This has been done for over 60 years.
If you have hearing loss, you may be familiar with these steroids. Some common ones are prednisone, prednisolone, dexamethasone, and methylprednisolone.
The problem was, although medical professionals often prescribed steroids as treatment, they didn't really understand how the ear's steroid-responsive mechanism really worked. In fact, many modern doctors question the efficacy of steroids on hearing loss and balance issues.
Understanding How Hearing Works
You may have a vague understanding of how hearing works.
You've probably learned in school that you have an eardrum that's like the skin of a drum (instrument), and whenever sound passes through, it hits the eardrum like with the instrument. You've probably also learned that you have little hair follicles that line your ears, and they help in interpreting sound too.
But it's not that simple. Hearing is not just mechanical.
How those hair cells work in hearing has to do with potassium ion movement in your inner ear. It also has to do with sodium ion transport in there.
And guess what? Aldosterone plays an important role in regulating both.
So it was only natural for someone to eventually make the connection between this hormone and hearing. Especially since as we get older, the less aldosterone we produce.
Some Studies
The benefits of aldosterone on hearing were first realized in 2005 by Frisina and their colleagues. They found that this hormone has a strong potential to protect against age-related hearing loss.
Then, in 2010, Trune & Kempton found that by combining aldosterone and a low dose of prednisolone, hearing loss could be successfully treated in mice.
Most recently, in 2016, Halonen J. et al found that with long-term aldosterone treatment, age-related hearing loss could be slowed down.
Aldosterone for Hearing Loss
Although many are pinning their hopes on aldosterone, it's still not been officially approved as a hearing loss treatment. However, there are several clinical trials and studies happening, which means we're on the cusp of proving aldosterone's efficacy.
So keep in mind that although aldosterone isn't quite FDA-approved yet, there are plenty of studies out there that have concrete results showing how hearing loss can be corrected with this hormone.
Although some of these studies are done on mice, the positive results are paving the way for further tests to be conducted on humans. This means there's much confidence that more doctors will prescribe aldosterone to treat hearing loss and balance issues in the future.
Pick up Some Aldosterone Today
As you can see, aldosterone is promising for hearing loss and balance issues. Since the function of your ear has to do with sodium and potassium ion transfers, it makes sense that a hormone that has a direct correlation with regulating those things could help with your hearing.
As with everything that's medical, before you start aldosterone, make sure you have a chat with your doctor first. Since this hormone has an effect on your blood pressure and other bodily functions, you may inadvertently suffer from some side effects if you adjust your aldosterone levels too much.
So make sure you get the all-clear from your doctor before adding aldosterone to your daily regimen!
Do you have any more questions regarding hearing loss and aldosterone? Then get in touch with us today.
Side Photos, before and after: Crows feet vanish with AldoMax skin spray.
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