Is There A Natural Solution For Hearing Loss?

What if the key to preventing or even reversing age-related hearing loss wasn’t in a device but in a nutrient found in plants? A groundbreaking discovery has linked the common dietary compound of phytosterols to better hearing, offering hope to millions who struggle with hearing loss but shy away from hearing aids. Could this natural remedy be the game changer we’ve been waiting for? Let’s dive into the science behind this exciting breakthrough.

Key Takeaways

• Brain Cholesterol and Hearing: Cholesterol plays a critical role in inner ear function, and its depletion with age is linked to hearing loss.
• Phytosterols to the Rescue: Plant-based compounds called phytosterols can replenish cholesterol levels in the brain, potentially reversing hearing deficits.
• Beyond Hearing: Phytosterols also offer anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and immune-boosting benefits, making them a powerful addition to any diet.

Hearing Loss: A Normal Part of Aging

Almost one in three seniors experience some degree of hearing loss. Age‐related hearing loss is the most common cause of hearing loss and is one of the most prevalent conditions affecting people in their senior years. And yet, fewer than 20 percent of adults with hearing loss use hearing aids.

Age‐related hearing loss markedly affects a person’s quality of life and what’s more, it’s strongly linked to accelerated cognitive decline and dementia risk in older adults. As a result, an alternative to hearing aids is badly needed. Scientists in Argentina had a surprising idea to discover one.

Cholesterol could be the culprit and the solution…

The team theorized that reduced cholesterol in the brain could be involved in hearing loss. If this was the case, replacing the cholesterol should restore hearing.

How? The brain has the highest concentration of cholesterol in the body because it’s essential for normal brain function. While the body relies on the liver to manufacture most of its requirement for cholesterol – the rest coming from food - the brain makes all the cholesterol it needs.

For example, cholesterol is an important part of the cell membrane within the brain. It doesn’t just have a structural role, but it’s involved in cell signaling, transport of substances such as neurotransmitters in and out of the cell, and is a key component of myelin, the insulating sheath that surrounds nerve fibers.

Cholesterol helps you hear better

Cholesterol also has a direct role in hearing. It’s needed to allow sensory cells in the inner ear called outer hair cells (OHCs) to amplify sounds by changing their length. However, with aging these cells lose their ability to stretch in response to sound, preventing sound amplification. This leads to age‐related hearing loss.

Since cholesterol has vital functions in the brain, is a key player in the stretch response, and has recently been shown to decrease with age, the loss of cholesterol in the brain could be involved in hearing loss.

Since cholesterol has vital functions in the brain, is a key player in the stretch response, and has recently been shown to decrease with age, the loss of cholesterol in the brain could be involved in hearing loss. Would the Argentinian scientists be able to demonstrate this?

They started with a powerful enzyme, CYP46A1.

CYP46A1 steals your brain’s cholesterol—and your hearing

CYP46A1 is an enzyme that helps break down and recycle cholesterol in OHCs. The scientists measured this enzyme in both young and old mice and found, as expected, more of the enzyme in the older mice, and consequently less cholesterol. They showed that aging triggers cholesterol loss from sensory cells of the inner ear.

The next task was to show levels of the enzyme weren’t just associated with older age but with inducing hearing loss. To find out if the research would bear this out, they gave a drug to young mice that over-activates the enzyme CYP46A1. This impaired OHC function and induced hearing loss.

Their final task was to see if the effects of the drug could be countered by increasing levels of cholesterol in the brain. Since cholesterol can’t enter the brain from the blood (which is why the brain must manufacture its own supply), they used nutrients with a structure and function similar to cholesterol that are able to enter the brain. I’m talking about phytosterols.

Phytosterols increase cholesterol in the brain

After three weeks of dietary phytosterols, the young mice taking the CYP46A1-activating drug saw an improvement in OHC function.

The scientists wrote in their paper published in the journal PLoS Biology in August that “these results are the first proof-of-principle study showing that CYP46A1 activation can lead to hearing deficits due to cholesterol removal from OHCs. Moreover, we show that the effect of cholesterol loss in OHCs can be rescued with phytosterols supplementation in the diet.”

What Are Phytosterols?

Phytosterols, also known as plant sterols, are naturally occurring compounds found in plant cell membranes. Decades of research shows they’re good for your overall health and can help you:

·       Fight Inflammation: Some studies suggest that phytosterols have anti-inflammatory properties, which could help conditions such as arthritis, heart disease and even Alzheimer’s disease, which are characterized by chronic inflammation.

·       Protect Against Free Radicals: Phytosterols exert antioxidant effects, protecting cells from damage by free radicals. This plays a role in preventing certain diseases related to oxidative stress such as cancer. Some in vitro (test-tube) and animal studies have suggested that phytosterols might have anti-cancer properties, especially for certain types of cancer like breast, stomach, and lung cancers.

·       Improve Your Immune System: Preliminary research suggests that phytosterols can modulate the immune system and help it work better.

·       Improve Prostate Health: Some research suggests that phytosterols, particularly beta-sitosterol, might be beneficial for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate gland.

·       Reduce Blood Sugar: Some studies have shown that phytosterols might help reduce blood glucose levels, which could be beneficial for managing conditions like diabetes. However, more research is needed in this area.

The thing is, most of us don’t consume enough phytosterols to experience these benefits. It’s estimated that early humans consumed one gram of phytosterols daily, whereas typical Western diets today contain well under half of this.

Fortunately, increasing your dietary phytosterol intake is easy. Good sources of phytosterols include whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and beans.

Our Takeaway

This is exciting news. Of course, this research is still early, and we won’t know if the benefits will apply to human hearing loss for many years; however, increasing your dietary phytosterol intake is worth trying to improve your hearing.

It’s important to note that eating more phytosterol-rich foods won’t be enough, though, and phytosterol supplements are necessary.

Summary

 New research suggests that age-related hearing loss, a widespread issue among seniors, might be prevented or improved by increasing brain cholesterol levels using phytosterols—a plant-based nutrient. These compounds mimic cholesterol's structure, restoring essential cellular functions in the inner ear that deteriorate with age. While human studies are needed, early results indicate that boosting dietary phytosterol intake could support better hearing and overall health.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are phytosterols?